Mysteries Unraveled
by bobbypingirl101
Summary: At the beginning of Harry's sixth year, Dolores Umbridge receives a large book from a mysterious sender containing details of Harry's many exploits during his years at Hogwarts. What better way to punish the boy than to read it to Hogwarts as a whole? Much to Harry's chagrin, she does just that. OOC, HARRYxGINNY
1. Prologue

**Quite a few people have been urging me to try to put this story back up for you guys, and I've finally decided to give it a shot. Fingers crossed it won't be deleted again!**

**For those of you who are new to this story, welcome! First thing you need to know is that this story is HUMOR and the characters are WAAAAY OOC. This story is all in good fun, and hopefully will make you laugh. Secondly, this story is Harry and Ginny pairing. It is blatant and over exaggerated.**

**This story will be jumping around in time to cover the main adventures and some chapters that reviewers have requested. I repeat, THIS STORY WILL BE MAKING MAJOR LEAPS IN TIME.**

**Disclaimer: I do not, and never will, own Harry Potter. If I did, I would be off living in some fabulous mansion on a tropical island taking baths in my billions of dollars, but sadly I'm not because I can't. :/**

**Edited: 4.27.13**

Dolores Jane Umbridge was in a horrid mood. The ministry had been in a state of panic because of all the nonsense about You-Know-Who, and she knew it was all that wretched Harry Potter's fault. Yes, it did seem as if You-Know-Who was really back, but the boy still caused more trouble than he was worth. His troublesome attitude deserved to punished.

Dolores stormed through the hallways of the first floor near her office, glaring and yelling at everyone that crossed her path. She scowled heavily when she saw her assistant standing by her office door nervously. "What?" she growled, no longer in the mood to act sweet.

Her assistant, Nicole, followed her into her office as soon as Dolores had the door open. "You have a visitor appointment in five minutes," she told her hurriedly, glancing back out the office door to the waiting area. The mysterious tall man with blackish brown hair that requested the meeting was gone, but said he should be coming back soon.

"What!" she snapped, crossing her pink, cat covered office quickly to her desk. Her awful mood was reflected when she didn't even stop to say hello to her many darling kitties on the wall. "How could you not alert me sooner?"

Nicole stared at her for a moment. "You said not to disturb you, Madam Umbridge."

Dolores stared back at her impassively, though her cheeks were slowly filling with pink in anger. "Fine then. What is so important about this appointment that it was made at the very last minute yet was able to actually be put in at the last minute?"

She shuffled some papers around from a pile under her arm. "We have a Mr. L visiting for important need-to-know information on a Mr." she read, shuffling another paper. "Harry Potter," she finished, glancing up at her boss to see her face quickly turn into a sickening smile.

"Oh. Why didn't you say so!" she exclaimed loudly, rearranging things around her desk to make her appear more organized. Her assistant didn't answer, but stood hovering at the door needlessly. "Well go wait for him!"

She scurried out of the room, throwing one glance over her shoulder before shutting the door.

Dolores sat down imperiously, stacking papers into the middle of the desk to make her look busy. She took out a small mirror and fixed her little pink bow in her hair, pausing to apply more pink lipstick. If something was need-to-know on her least favorite person at the moment, she'd look her best in order to get all of the information she could. After all, there was a good possibility that this information could be damaging beyond repair. Dolores stopped applying powder when she heard her assistant greet someone outside.

"Welcome back, sir! Madam Umbridge is ready for you," Nicole said in an overly sweet voice, just the way she trained her.

"Thank you," a deeper voice said, coming from right in front of her closed office door.

"Do you need me to hold those packages for you while you go inside?" Nicole offered.

"No thank you, that won't be necessary," the man replied.

Dolores saw the doorknob turning, and sat up in excitement. She only hoped the information would harm the boy rather than reward him. A tall man with a circular face and dark brown hair walked into the room, carrying a package the size of a book, or maybe a few files. "Hello," she greeted him, smiling widely. "How can I help you today?"

The man seemed to smirk for a minute before answering. "I … came across this book about Harry Potter, and had it verified by his relatives to be true. It will give you a … clear insight to what went on during certain parts of his previous school years," he told her, sliding the covered book onto the front of her desk.

Her smile seemed to get even wider. "Parts of previous school years, you say?"

He nodded. The man knew this to be true, but he lied about where he got the information verified from. How are you supposed to say Harry himself, but not in a legal way? Dolores would like that though, he reckoned. "Yes, it is confirmed truth."

"So, say it told about what happened last year at the ministry…" she trailed off hopefully.

The man stared at her, nodding slightly again.

"Excellent, excellent."

He nodded again. "That is all I had for you. I'll be out of your hair now," he said as he was walking towards the door.

She nodded absentmindedly, staring at the book fixedly. If his relatives confirmed it, it had to be true. Now she would just need to grab the minister, and maybe a few other people that were close to Harry… yes. That would work perfectly. She smiled impossibly wider. "Nicole!" she shouted.

Her assistant quickly opened the door, poking her head inside. "Yes madam?"

"I need you to contact a few people for me…"


	2. The Boy Who Lived

Harry Potter walked to the Great Hall with his two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Nobody was quite sure what was going on that day that was so important to cancel classes a couple weeks into the new school year, but Harry didn't have a good feeling about it at all. In fact, he was in such a state that morning that he swore he saw Dudley peering around a classroom in amazement as the trio walked by. "I'm telling you, it was him! You can't miss a body that big! It's not possible! It had to be him!" Harry was exclaiming to his friends, who gave him dubious expressions in response.

"Harry," Hermione started hesitantly, "Just think about it, alright? How could Dudley, a muggle, be in Hogwarts? Muggles can't even see Hogwarts!"

Ron looked at her curiously. "They can't?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in the air in annoyance. "Of course they can't, Ronald! All they see are smoldering ruins with a caution sign! Honestly! Did you even read Hogwarts, A History?"

Having heard that exclamation so many times, Ron didn't even hesitate to answer with his usual: "No. Why would we, when we have you?"

Harry, sensing another row coming on, cut in quickly. "That's beside the point. Hermione, I'm positive I saw him! Of course I don't know how a great big – and when I say big I do mean big – muggle like him is in Hogwarts, but I swear I saw him!"

Hermione just stared at him as they were pushed with the continuous flow of students making their way into the Great Hall. "Well," she started in a mollifying tone, "I'm sure that if it is, in fact, Dudley, then we'll find out pretty quickly why he's here, alright?"

Harry, feeling very annoyed with Hermione at the moment, merely grunted and made his way over to a seat by Neville, Luna, the twins (who Harry knew were visiting about some kind of Order business) and Ginny.

Neville grinned at him. "Harry! Just the man we were talking about!"

Harry raised an eyebrow at him, while Neville grinned sheepishly.

"We were wondering if this whole mandatory breakfast thing has something to do with you," Neville grinned, looking over at him jokingly.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh please. What could I have possibly done now? The school year has just started! If anything it's something about Voldemort, or the war, or something in the same category as those. I've been a perfectly good boy," Harry finished with a grin.

Before Neville could answer, Ginny cut in. "Actually, Harry, you did walk into the Great Hall all bloody at the welcoming feast, remember? Maybe they've found out what really went on. Or maybe Snape wants to yell at you publicly!"

Harry rolled his eyes again. Before Harry could retort, however, Dumbledore stood up claiming instant silence. "Welcome one, welcome all! Now I'm sure you all are wondering why your presence has been needed this morning, but first would you all welcome our visitors, who I am sure would be delighted to explain?" He said as the doors banged open.

Minister Scrimegour walked in with Fudge behind him clutching his bowler hat nervously. Behind them walked in Remus Lupin, and to everyone's displeasure Madam Umbridge. The people following Umbridge made Harry's, Ron's, Hermione's, the twin's and several Professors who knew who they were jaws drop.

Vernon Dursley strode in first, followed by Petunia who was clutching her husband's beefy arm while glaring around as if disgusted. Her other arm was grabbing her whale of a son's hand, pulling him along behind her.

The Weasleys that knew who they were stared at Harry, who was becoming rapidly pale as he watched his relatives walk into the one place he called home. "Ha-Harry?" Ron asked, not taking his eyes off of his best friend's family. "Wha-What's going on?"

Hermione was also gaping at her best friend's family. "Oh, Harry! I'm so sorry! I can't believe I didn't take you seriously! Why are they here? Did you do something? Do you know something? Harry?" she questioned with concern, her eyes flying between Harry and his 'family'.

Before Harry could respond, the final guests walked in. Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Oliver Wood of the old Quidditch team walked in looking very confused. They all walked to the Gryffindor table along with Remus, while the rest made their way up to the Head Table where extra seats were conjured.

Umbridge got up and walked to the front of the table in front of Dumbledore, gave a 'hem-hem', and proceeded to smile at the full House tables in a sickeningly sweet way. "Hello," she smiled, "It's so good to be back! I've brought back several former students who will love what is going on today, of course the Minister, Remus Lupin, and the family of a certain student here."

People looked around for who that unfortunate student with the very unpleasant looking family could be. To Harry it seemed as if many eyes found him.

"Hem hem! Now, to get down to business. I have recently come into possession of a very interesting book that may very well include all of you."

Murmurs swept across the hall at that, while Harry felt very, very, very worried. He didn't have a good feeling about this at all. If Umbridge found something interesting enough to ship the _Dursleys_ to Hogwarts, it must be bad.

"Yes, yes. As most of you are probably wondering, it is, indeed, about one Mr. Potter."

Harry felt like disappearing and hid his head in his hands as many people turned to crane their necks to look for him. Harry felt horrible. He didn't know how Umbridge got it, but he knew for certain many of his secrets would be revealed because of that book.

"Hem hem! For however long it takes over the next week, we will be reading about certain times in Mr. Potter's first five years in this… fine institution. We – the people who present this information- have taken oaths to prove that all that is said is true as it came from a very reliable source."

Even more whispers broke out, while students leaned over or even got up from their seats to look at Harry. Harry, on the other hand, was trying to shrink into himself and hide. He felt his stomach drop and was horrified of the prospect of everyone finding out all of his secrets. He didn't even notice as Ginny and Hermione each took his hand, for he was glaring at the table trying to not exist.

"Hem hem!" Umbridge cleared her throat loudly. "Excellent. Children, settle down. This book," she held up a very thick volume, "has been separated into five years. I will begin, of course, and any teacher or student may read after me."

She cleared her throat again, and began. "**The Boy Who** **Lived.**"

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.**

"Well of course!" Fred shouted, looking mock offended, while the aforementioned Dursleys were looking seriously offended. Of course they were normal! The nerve of that freak!

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.**

George nodded. "Too true. I shudder to think what_ I _would do if I was involved with anything strange or mysterious at all!" Several Gryffindors gave amused chuckles, but were silenced by Umbridge's annoyed glare.

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills.**

"What's a drill?"A third year Hufflepuff pureblood asked.

"A drill is a hand tool, power tool, or machine with a rotating cutting tip or reciprocating hammer or chisel, used for making holes," Hermione answered promptly, to general confusion.

"A machine that makes holes," Professor Burbage simplified, earning many nods.

"But why do muggles want to make holes?" The same girl as before asked.

"Muggles are strange in many different ways," her friend answered her solemnly.

"But if they're strange wouldn't they want to make cracks instead of holes?" the Hufflepuff persisted.

Nobody responded. Vernon glared in her general direction.

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache.**

Fred groaned. "Damn. He sounds so brilliant. He looks even better in person! It's a shame he's married."

Petunia stared at him in a way that she normally saved for Harry, which quickly made George shrink back with a mocking grin. Her glare didn't stop everyone from laughing, though.

**Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, **

Several students examined her up and down and nodded their heads in agreement.

"It wouldn't be too bad if she would spruce herself up a little bit with a nice scarf," Lavender Brown stated, squinting up at Petunia.

"Or she could put a bag over her head," Hermione muttered under her breath.

**which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbours.**

Professor McGonagall looked disgusted, and shot a sharp glare at Dumbledore. "You should not have sent him there! Look where he got his spying from!" She reprimanded him loudly.

Harry looked positively outraged at being compared to his aunt, but forced the anger down while holding his tongue. Ginny squeezed his hand, moving hers to pat him comfortingly on the arm.

**The Dursleys had a small son **

"Where?" Ron piped up, looking appropriately confused after seeing the Dursleys in person again.

**called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

Fred, George, Ron and Harry all snorted as one. Uncle Vernon zoomed in his piggy little eyes on them, which narrowed as soon as they landed on Harry.

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.**

"I'm sensing the plot's about to thicken!" Dean Thomas shouted excitedly, not noticing the many amused glances sent his way. Seamus nodded vigorously with him.

"I love secrets," Seamus sighed dreamily.

Ginny looked seriously annoyed at the way her current boyfriend was acting.

**They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"What's wrong with the Potters?" Hermione snarled, looking at Harry then back to the book as if daring the book to answer her. She didn't even bother looking at the Dursleys.

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be.**

"That isn't even a word!" Shrieked Terry Booth from the Ravenclaw table. Many Ravenclaws scoffed angrily at the use of such made-up adjectives. Proper spelling, grammar and long, complicated words were all part of being a Ravenclaw, after all. "And pretending somebody doesn't exist is despicable!" he added on as an afterthought.

**The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street.**

"I shudder to think what the neighbors would say if _they_ arrived in _my_ street," Hannah Abbott said loudly, glaring at the Dursleys. Vernon and Petunia did what they did best and glared right back at her, while Dudley stared around the room looking for someone or something.

**The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"A child like what, exactly?" snarled Ginny, Hermione, Parvati, Lavender, and several other females in the room, the majority from the Gryffindor table. This time it was Harry who had to put a comforting hand on Ginny's arm.

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work,**

"Why would you pick a boring tie?" Fred contemplated loudly. "I mean, I can only imagine the thought process behind that. 'ooh, this tie is lovely, but it's not boring enough for my taste. It's precisely the wrong shade of gray! This won't do at all!'"

Vernon slowly turned a shade of purple, not that Fred took any notice.

**and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

"Of course not!" grumbled Vernon. "Why would we take notice of freak owls?"

The amount of glares sent his way startled him into silence.

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.**

"**Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley** **as he left the house.**

"'Little tyke?!'" shouted Daphne Greengrass. "That's encouraging him! And it's not like he's actually little!"

The 'him' in question turned to stare at her stupidly.

**He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.**

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar — a cat reading a map.**

"Minnie, old chum! What were you doing out there?!" Fred and George called up to her at the Head table.

Professor McGonagall gave them a stern glare. "Weasleys," she growled. "Enough."

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen — then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of?** **It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive — no, **_**looking **_**at the sign; cats couldn't read maps **_**or **_**signs.**

Ron snickered. "I'm sure McGonagall is appreciating this!"

"Ron!" Hermione hissed, smacking his arm.

**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.**

"What a one track mind he has," muttered Katie Bell to Angelina Johnson, who nodded her agreement.

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**

"What's wrong with cloaks?" Neville asked, confused.

Hermione smiled at him. "Muggles don't wear cloaks. It's just an odd site for them, that's all."

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes — the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together.**

Several teachers frowned at how blatantly obvious the wizards were acting in front of muggles.

**Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him!**

"I don't understand why he's upset that he's wearing emerald-green," Romilda Vane commented, staring over at Harry. "I rather like that color."

**But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt —these people were obviously collecting for something… yes, that would be it.**

**The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.**

"A one track mind indeed," Angelina said, smirking at Katie.

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. **_**He **_**didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime.**

"Is this accurate?" Astoria Greengrass asked her sister quietly. "Muggles never see owls?"

"I suppose so," Daphne shrugged. "But these muggles don't seem particularly observant."

**Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. **

"Which is a perfectly acceptable accomplishment," snarled Ron Weasley, who was looking at his pale best friend in concern. Harry never went into any detail about his family or home life, which was becoming obvious to Ron that it was more horrible than he originally thought.

**He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. **

Fred nodded at Ron seriously. "You know it's a horrible day if you can't yell at least six times. It's good that I've taught you that."

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road**

Harry frowned in confusion. "He walked?"

Several people that heard him snickered.

**to buy himself a bun from the bakers opposite.**

"Ah," he nodded. "Never mind then. That makes sense."

Even more people snickered at that.

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This lot were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

"**The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard –"**

" — **yes, their son, Harry – "**

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead.**

Many people bowed their heads, realizing exactly what day it was. Several glanced at Harry, but Harry was glaring down at the table again.

**Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.**

"That's odd," Fred exclaimed. "The massive cow up there looks as if he doesn't think at all!"

"Now George," George admonished his twin. "It's not nice to call him a cow! Think of all of the cows you're insulting all over this glorious planet! No, he's more of a whale."

"But what about the whales, dear brother of mine? Won't they be offended that they're being compared to good old Vernon?" Fred clutched at his heart. "The horror! I don't think we can justify comparing Vernon to any living being without insulting them!"

"Then he shall be compared to a rock, then! A big, fat, bulging rock!" George declared.

"Settle down," McGonagall said sharply towards her former lions, though not with her usual bite when scolding the twin pranksters.

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, **

Umbridge was torn between disgust and pleasure while reading this. On the one hand, she hated anything not pureblood or magical. She hated halfbloods, halfbreeds, mudbloods and magical beasts on principle. However, she couldn't help but appreciate the obese muggle's finesse in dealing with his secretary. So as to not call attention to her inner dilemma, she continued reading on quickly.

**seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his moustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid**.

Harry snorted. "At least he realized it at the time."

Ron nodded supportively. "Acceptance is vital."

**Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry.**

**Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew **_**was **_**called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold.**

"How could you not even know your own nephews name?!" Hermione shrieked, glaring up at the Dursleys. "That's just – that's not even – you people are despicable! Your own nephew!" Hermione quickly finished sputtering after Umbridge's glare turned towards her, but continued to mouth obscenities under her breath.

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her — if **_**he'd **_**had a sister like that…**

"A sister like what?!" surprisingly Professor McGonagall shrieked, her hat tilting to the side while she fumed in obvious anger. "Lily was a wonderful person! How dare you say such things about her!" She yelled at the Dursleys, who looked quite offended.

"She was a freak, that's what she was!" Petunia shouted back. Harry closed his eyes tightly, tensing up. He despised his aunt for talking about his mother like that.

McGonagall drew herself up to her full height. "Lily Potter was no such thing! It's a monstrosity like you that is the only one to think so!"

Professor Dumbledore interfered, shooting a silencing look at Petunia. "That is enough."

Both women settled down rather reluctantly, McGonagall shooting murderous glances at Petunia.

**but all the same, those people in cloaks…**

**He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

"**Sorry,"**

"He knows what that word is?" Alicia Spinnet asked disbelievingly, looking curiously at the fat man in question. They were barely into the story and already everybody in the hall, including the Slytherins, immensely disliked the family.

**he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell.**

**It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last!** **Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

At this, everyone in the Hall bowed their hall in remembrance of what took place that day for You-Know-Who to be gone at last.

Ginny Weasley, however, was watching the emotions fly across Harry's face. As he settled on sorrow, she wrapped an arm around him, trying to comfort him. Harry smiled down at her in appreciation, noticing neither Ron's slight glare nor Dean Thomas', Ginny's current boyfriend.

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

"I'm astonished he managed to get his arm even halfway around him," scoffed Draco Malfoy, of all people. Noticing the odd glances he was getting, he huffed, crossed his arms across his chest, and glared. "It is well known that I don't like muggles. And just from hearing and looking at this big muggle, I'm not impressed."

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

"How the hell do you not approve of imagination?" Susan Bones asked indignantly, blushing when she noticed her Head of House's gaze on her.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw—and it didn't improve his mood — was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning.**

Snape raised his eyebrows at that. "You were there all day? Why there, of all places?" he asked McGonagall.

McGonagall inclined her head to the side. "Of course I was there all day. I needed to see the boy myself, and to see if my worst suspicions would be confirmed. Everyone in the order knew of her sister's hatred of her."

**It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**

"**Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.**

Fred smirked up at said Animagus professor. "Don't deny it. We know it's you!"

**Was this normal cat behaviour,**

Fred snorted. "No, but that is normal McGonagall behavior."

Many who heard him nodded in agreement.

McGonagall gave him a stern glare, which earned many chuckles.

**Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word! ("Shan't!").**

"How the bloody hell is that something to be proud of?!" Ginny shrieked indignantly.

Harry sighed, and shook his head, leaning down to quietly answer her. "Everything that Dudley does is something to be proud of," he murmured into her ear. "It's just how they treat Dudley."

Ginny looked up at him, blushing slightly. "I'm assuming they have no idea to be proud of you, then." Harry's silence answered that.

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

"_**And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The news reader allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**_

"_**Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**_

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…**

Harry looked stunned. He never knew that his uncle was able to piece that all together. You learn something new every day, he guessed.

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. **

"**Er — Petunia, dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"**

**As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

Many people harrumphed and glared at the Dursleys, who glared back. Several teachers and students who knew Harry were wondering how bad the Dursleys truly were to him.

"**No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

"**Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls… shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…"**

"_**So?**_**" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

"**Well, I just thought… maybe… it was something to do with… you know… **_**her **_**crowd."**

"'Her crowd'?!" Ernie MacMillion shouted. "You people have a lot of nerve!"

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son — he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

"**I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

"**What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

"**Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

Ginny scowled. "I think Harry is a wonderful name," she growled, blushing red when she realized who she had her arm around and who heard her say that.

Harry just grinned down at her. "Why thank you."

Hermione gave them a knowing look, but neither noticed because they were staring into each others' eyes.

"**Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there.**

**It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

"We're onto you, Minny," Fred whispered gleefully while staring up at his old Head of House.

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

"'A pair of-'?!" shouted Lavender Brown. "A pair of what?! What is that supposed to mean?!"

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters **_**were **_**involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind… He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect **_**them**_**…**

**How very wrong he was.**

"I wish he wasn't," Harry grumbled, finally breaking away from Ginny's gaze.

Ginny squeezed him tighter.

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness.**

**It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

"Dumbledore!" cheered many students, students who grinned happily when they noticed the furious glint in Umbridge's eye.

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome.**

"I was fully aware, on the contrary!" Dumbledore called from his seat at the head table, his eyes twinkling. "I just didn't care."

Everyone laughed, including the Slytherins. The Slytherins laughed only because it would agitate the muggles, of course.

**He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop.**

"Cool!" several students gasped in wonder.

**He clicked it again — the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

"**Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

"Who would have thought the twins would be right about something?" Ernie smirked to his housemates.

Susan rolled her eyes. "It was quite obvious that Professor McGonagall was the cat, Ernie. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out, and Fred and George aren't exactly dumb either."

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. **

Romilda Vane sighed dreamily, once again staring at Harry.

Ginny noticed this and glared at the girl.

**Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. **

**She looked distinctly ruffled.**

"**How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

"**My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

"Does he make it a habit to observe cats as they sit, then?" Katie Bell wondered curiously.

"If he does, it probably isn't the strangest thing that he does," Alicia giggled to her friend.

"**You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

"**All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

"This isn't surprising," George said quietly to the Gryffindors sitting around him. "What, with all the parties she's broken up before…"

Everyone snorted into their hands.

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

"**Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls… shooting stars… Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

Several students laughed, while the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione grinned. Dedalus Diggle was an interesting man.

"**You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

"**I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really **_**has **_**gone, Dumbledore?"**

"**It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

"A what?" A lot of purebloods and half-bloods asked.

Umbridge ignored them, continuing to read.

"**A **_**what**_**?"**

"**A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**

"Why would you have a Muggle sweet when you can have some delicious wizarding ones?" Draco scoffed. "No good taste in the proper candy these days."

"**No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops.**

Dumbledore looked slightly offended at that statement. In his opinion, it was _always_ the right moment for lemon drops.

"**As I say, even if You-Know-Who **_**has **_**gone —"**

"**My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: **_**Voldemort**_**."**

Umbridge stuttered out his name, and everyone but Harry and Dumbledore flinched.

Harry sighed loudly. "It's just a name, people! And completely made up," he added under his breath. Ginny gave him a curious look, but Harry shook his head. "My second year."

**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."**

"Of course he doesn't! He's the greatest wizard alive, other than Harry!" Colin Creevey yelped.

"**I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, **_**Voldemort**_**, was frightened of."**

"**You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

"**Only because you're too — well —**_**noble **_**to use them."**

"**It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

The twins and Ron laughed. "How nice to know, Headmaster."

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said "The owls are nothing next to the **_**rumors **_**that are flying around. You know what they're saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

Harry pressed his eyes tightly closed at this, bowing his head down.

"**What they're **_**saying**_**," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are — are — that they're — **_**dead**_**."**

Harry received many pitying looks, but noticed none of them. Ginny wrapped him in an all out hug. She knew Harry didn't like to hear about anything to do with his parents' death, and she knew he hated hearing the toad of all people talk about it.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

"**Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…"**

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I know…" he said heavily.**

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry.**

Again, Harry didn't notice any of the pitying glances, nor did he notice any of the curious ones mixed in there.

**But he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's gone."**

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

"**It's — it's **_**true**_**?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy?** **It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"That's what we'd all like to know," Hermione grumbled.

Several muggle-born first years who hadn't been filled in on that yet stared at Harry in awe.

"**We can only guess." said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

Harry rolled his eyes. Of course Dumbledore knew. He always knew. _And now you know too, _Harry thought sadly, wishing dearly that he _didn't _know.

Ron and Hermione looked at Harry sadly while Ginny looked at him confused, noticing his agitated state.

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge.**

**It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

"**Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me **_**why **_**you're here, of all places?"**

"**I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

"**You don't mean – you **_**can't **_**mean the people who live **_**here**_**?"cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. **

"They sound awful!" Lavender agreed with McGonagall. "I don't think anybody would want to live there!"

"Too true!" Parvati concurred. "It's highly likely that no one sane likes them, let alone wants to live with them! What was Dumbledore thinking?"

"I think the key word to that would be 'sane,' Parvati dear," Dean sighed. "Since this is Dumbledore we're talking about, well…"

"**Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**

Petunia looked horribly offended at this, but McGonagall pointedly looked the other way, much to the students' amusement.

"**It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

"A letter?!" Hermione shouted, looking outraged at the Headmaster. "How could you possibly explain what happened in a letter?! That is ridiculous!"

Dumbledore bowed his head.

"Miss Granger! Calm yourself!" McGonagall said sternly, glaring down at one of her favorite students. Hermione wasn't calm at all, but she did stop shouting and went back to mumbling under her breath.

"**A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter?**

George laughed loudly at this. "Hermione thinks like McGonagall! Professor, you just yelled at Hermione for saying almost the same thing you did. How hypocritical," he sighed, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

McGonagall glared at him but didn't respond.

**These people will never understand him! He'll be famous — a legend — I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future- there will be books written about Harry — every child in our world will know his name!"**

Harry groaned, slamming his head onto the table. The Durselys looked a little bit interested that the 'worthless freak' was that famous, but none chose to ask why.

"**Exactly." said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

Hermione looked horrified at that and was gearing up for another rant.

"**Hagrid's bringing him."**

"**You think it —**_**wise **_**— to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

Harry smiled, raising his head back up. "I would trust Hagrid with my life. It's fine."

Hagrid beamed at him.

"**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

"**I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to — what was that?"**

The students leaned forward in their seats, excited. "What was what?" a first-year Hufflepuff shrieked excitedly.

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

"Wicked!" "I want one!" "Brilliant!" were heard all around the room.

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it.**

"Hagrid!" Everyone cheered.

**He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so **_**wild **_**— long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

"**Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

"**Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**

"**No problems, were there?"**

"**No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

"Aww," many females cooed, to the intense embarrassment of Harry. Harry blushed and put his head back down again, which caused the guys to laugh. Several teachers smiled fondly at the boy, not that he noticed.

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep.** **Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

"**Is that where —?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

"**Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

"**Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

"**Even if I could, I wouldn't.** **Scars can come in handy.** **I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground.** **Well — give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this over with."**

"Do you really?" Fred asked excitedly.

Dumbledore nodded, smiling.

"Wicked!"

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.**

"**Could I — could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

"**Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "You'll wake the Muggles!"**

"**S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it —Lily an' James dead — an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles —"**

"**Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm** **as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two.**

**For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

"**Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

"**Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

"**I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.**

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

"You just left him on the doorstep! It was November, at night! That is completely irresponsible! How could you just leave a baby out there!" Hermione started ranting again.

"Miss Granger! I can assure you that Harry wasn't left out there completely helpless. There were protections around him, of course," professor McGonagall said sternly.

"That's all you have to say? Protections? Protections! He was barely over a year old, only wrapped in a blanket, and it was November! He could have frozen!" Hermione shrieked, nowhere near through.

Harry snorted. Hermione shot him a glare. "Not that I don't agree with you, I just think it's funny. 'Boy-Who-Lived' defeats Voldemort, but dies of a cold. How funny would that headline be?"

Hermione glared daggers at him. "Harry James Potter! Don't joke about something like that! You could have DIED!"

Harry raised his hands up in defense. "Hermione, I realize that. I didn't mean to make you upset! I'm sorry!"

Hermione sniffed. "Sure. You would be the one to joke about that, you know. What, with the way you throw your life into dangerous situations without a care time after time."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "You think I don't care about potentially dying?"

Hermione sniffed again.

"Children, enough!" McGonagall yelled, ending the row before it could really get bad.

Many people were staring at how normal the Golden Trio seemed to be, but others that knew Harry were staring in astonishment at Hermione for what she said. Ginny glared, Ron gaped helplessly, and Harry and Hermione wouldn't look at each other.

"**Good luck, Harry," he murmured.**

**He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream** **as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley…**

Harry grimaced.

**He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter — the boy who lived!"**

Umbridge finished, obviously irritated that there was no dirt on Harry or even Dumbledore yet. _Oh well_, she thought_. Maybe next chapter. _"Hem hem!" she coughed, smiling unpleasantly. "Who would like to read next?"

"I very much would," Remus Lupin called up to her, smiling pleasantly from the end of the Gryffindor table where the old Quidditch team was gathered.


	3. The Vanishing Glass

As everyone from third year and up cheered for their old Defense Professor, Harry looked up, grinning widely. "Remus!" He was so shocked about the announcement of reading about his life that he didn't even notice Remus come in.

Remus got up and moved to sit next to Ginny. To people watching, it seemed that the old professor gave the two a knowing look. It was gone so quickly many dismissed it.

"Hello Harry," Remus grinned, moving to sit across from him at the Gryffindor table as it was quite crowded where Ginny was sitting. Apparently many people wanted to be as close to Harry as possible, which was actually no different than a normal day. "I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to be invited here. Of course, that disappeared as soon as I found out why, but Madam Umbridge was adamant that we all come."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I do get myself into a lot of strange situations, don't I?"

Remus grinned again, then looked over at Ginny. "My, my, my. Don't you two look very comfy?" In an undertone, he added to himself "And of course you're a redhead. Potters and their redheads." Neither Harry nor Ginny noticed what he said, because they were once again having a staring contest. Hermione grinned knowingly at Remus, however, while Neville and Luna nodded their agreement.

Before anyone could respond, Remus quickly levitated the book from Umbridge and started to read. **"The Vanishing Glass."**

"What does that mean?" Fred and George asked excitedly, smiling. "Is that some accidental magic?"

Harry looked up, grinning mysteriously. "Maybe."

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. **

"Well that sounds like a jolly good place to live if you're terrified of change!" Dean Thomas declared sarcastically.

**The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. **

Hannah Abbot grimaced. "I can't stand when folks do that! My own bedroom bothers me after a few months of it staying the same; I can't imagine it staying that way for ten years!"

"Hannah," Susan Bones sighed. "You're never at your house. How can it bother you if you're never there?"

Hannah pointedly ignored her.

**Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets**

Petunia shrieked indignantly at the copious amounts of laughter that littered the student tables and even the staff table. Her Duddykins was absolutely perfect!

**but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle**

"That poor bicycle," Ron pouted sadly, sighing. "That just isn't fair on the poor tires."

Ginny nodded in agreement. "I can only imagine what it had to go through."

**, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too. **

Many eyebrows raised. "Was Potter still there?" Ernie asked, frowning.

Hannah Abbott shrugged. "I guess so, since Umbridge introduced them as his family. Maybe he was secretive back then, too?" She asked, sending a nervous glance over at the Gryffindor boy who was still glaring fiercely at his table.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day. **

Snape winced sympathetically, but sneered quickly to cover it up.

"**Up! Get up! Now!" **

"Lovely way to start the day," Ron snarled sarcastically, frowning at the way Harry was acting.

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again. **

"**Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before. **

"Quite an admirable memory," Professor McGonagall commented to Snape, who frowned in annoyance that she was correct.

**His aunt was back outside the door. **

"**Are you up yet?" she demanded. **

"**Nearly," said Harry. **

"**Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. **

"They. Made. You. Cook?" Hermione snarled, previous argument with Harry forgotten. "How old were you when that started?"

Harry shrugged nervously. "Six? Seven? I don't know. As soon as I could see over the stove, I guess."

Hermione and Ginny swore, turning to glare at the Dursleys. The Dursleys, for their part, looked quite unaffected.

**And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday." **

**Harry groaned. **

"**What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door. **

"**Nothing, nothing…" **

**Dudley's birthday — how could he have forgotten? **

**Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them**

Ron shuddered. "Why'd you have to mention spiders?" he whimpered.

Harry grinned, shrugged, and patted Ron on the arm comfortingly.

**, put them on. Harry was used to spiders**

Hermione growled. "Why would you be used to spiders?" She spat, glaring daggers up at the Dursleys. Hermione didn't know how, or why, but she knew this was the Dursley's fault.

**, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them**

"What does a cupboard have to do with anything?" Ginny asked Harry, confusion written all over her face.

Harry was too busy worrying about peoples' reactions to his old sleeping arrangements to answer her. He didn't want anyone to know about that. In fact, he hated the idea of people knowing about it.

**, and that was where he slept. **

The silence that followed was deafening to Harry. He could feel himself spacing out, staring glumly at the table as people started to gasp as what was just read sunk in for them. His shallow breaths were loud in his ears as he stared at the dark brown wood of the table.

"WHAT?" The roar was all the more surprising because it came from Professor McGonagall. Everyone glanced away from Harry to watch the Gryffindor Head of House blow up at their esteemed Headmaster. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO LEAVE HIM THERE! I TOLD you what those muggles were like! I TOLD you it wasn't right to leave him there! You said he'd be SAFE! And they NEGLECTED HIM AND STUFFED HIM IN A CUPBOARD!" Her hat was tilted on her head as she rounded on the Dursleys, leaving a stunned silent Dumbledore in her wake.

Petunia tried to hide Dudley, who was watching Harry intently, behind her while Vernon eyed McGonagall beadily.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves! Your own NEPHEW! Did you not care for Lily at all? Did you not care that you could have stunted the boy's growth? Did you not care what could have happened to him? Did you not care AT ALL FOR HIM?!" Professor McGonagall thundered at them, her eyes flashing. She glared murderously at them. She could have continued on but was silenced and sat down by Dumbledore.

All of the students and Harry alike were shocked that the normally so composed professor blew up like that, but everyone was even more stunned at the revelation of the Boy-Who-Lived's home-life.

Hermione and Ron stared at Harry open mouthed. "Oh Harry, why didn't you tell us?" Hermione whispered softly, shocked at what her best friend held back from them.

Harry shrugged. "It never came up, I suppose."

Hermione and Ron continued to stare, while those sitting around Harry stared with them, not sure what to say. Ginny, who was stunned silent, grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, not daring to speak for fear of doing something she would later regret in a long, long time to the Dursleys.

Fred and George's furious growl brought Remus back to the present, and he shakily began to read again.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. **

**It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise**

A few people snorted. Petunia and Vernon glared at him, and Dudley just continued to stare at his cousin with an odd expression on his face.

**unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

"They better not mean you," Ginny snarled, baring her teeth. Harry squeezed her hand, not looking up from the table or responding.

**Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry**

Ginny, Hermione, Lavender, Luna, Parvati, and many others growled, glaring fiercely at the fat boy in question.

Harry wondered how long they could continue growling without hurting their throats.

**, but he couldn't often catch him.** **Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**

Oliver Wood stood up excitedly. "You bet he is!" He shouted proudly, breaking some tension accidentally. Oliver was an avid Quidditch fan and player, after all.

Fred and George whooped, breaking some of the tension brought on by Oliver's sudden shout. "Youngest seeker in a century!"

The rest of Gryffindor house cheered with them on principle.

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, **

Many growls echoed around the Hall at the reminder. Ginny snarled ferociously, earning another knowing smile from Hermione and Remus.

**but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. **

The twins nodded, staring at Harry with slightly mocking smiles on their faces. "Right skinny git he is," they said in unison.

Harry smiled back, rolling his eyes. He was so used to their comments he wasn't even amused anymore.

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, **

"Did they ever buy you anything?" Ginny whispered, her eyes starting to fill with angry tears.

Harry cocked his head to the side. "Well, they did on extremely rare occasions buy me treats, but that would be after Dudley would throw a public tantrum and they'd be forced to get me something also."

Ginny was too angry to respond to that. It was a good thing that she didn't catch Dean's jealous and angry glare at the two of them. She didn't quite feel like getting detention for hexing people today.

**and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. **

Fred looked over at Dudley, as if sizing him up. "I'd say he's about five times bigger than you now."

**Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, **

"That would be James' fault," McGonagall told him across the Hall, smiling at Harry slightly.

**and bright green eyes. **

"Lily," all of the teachers said with a smile, Slughorn the loudest and Snape the quietest.

**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape**

"Why?" Lavender Brown asked, not sure if she really wanted to know.

**because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. **

She shook her head, disgusted at the way the muggles treated Harry. She knew Harry and found him to be a very nice person.

**The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. **

Ron looked at Harry, shocked. "You liked that scar?"

Harry shrugged. "I think it was just something that made me different from them, and something they couldn't take away from me. I didn't know what it meant, but I was ten and the scar is shaped as a lightning bolt. What ten year old wouldn't like a lightning bolt shaped scar?" Harry explained, shrugging again.

Ron nodded thoughtfully, while Hermione sat fuming at the first part of his explanation.

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it. **

"**In the car crash when your parents died,"**

"THEY TOLD YOU YOUR PARENTS DIED IN A CAR CRASH!?" Hermione shrieked, making to stand up. Remus looked just as livid and had to take a break from reading. Ron caught Hermione's wrist and held her down, but he looked quite angry as well.

Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Slughorn, and surprisingly Professor Snape all had to leave and go into one of the antechambers off of the hall before they hurt the Dursleys.

**she had said. "And don't ask questions." **

"But how would you learn?" A Ravenclaw third year moaned, shaking his head sadly. "That's inhumane!"

_**Don't ask questions **_**— that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon. **

"**Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting. **

Neville smirked at Harry. "You will be told that every morning."

Seamus and Dean nodded solemnly along with Fred, George, and Ron. "We'll send you a howler every morning," Fred said seriously, with George grinning in agreement.

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way — all over the place. **

Petunia and Vernon glanced over at said hair disgustedly.

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. **

Snorts and snickers rang around the Hall as people laughed at the accurate description.

**Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel — Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig. **

Everyone burst out laughing at that, nodding in agreement. "Where has this sense of humor been hiding, Harry?" George gasped in-between laughs.

Harry grinned at him. "Somewhere far away from you to corrupt it, I'm sure."

Ron snorted.

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell. **

"**Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year." **

"I don't even get thirty-six," Malfoy huffed, frowning. "Mother stops at whatever age I'm turning," he explained to the amused glances he was getting.

"**Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy." **

"**All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon**

"He says that as if he wasn't wolfing down his bacon before," Theodore Nott said slowly, as if finding it hard to believe. "Why wouldn't he be wolfing it down? It's bacon!"

**as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over. **

Ron nodded. "You can't go without breakfast," he said seriously.

Hermione stared at him.

"What?" He asked, noticing her stare. "It's the most important meal of the day," he defended feebly.

Hermione snorted, looking away from him.

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another **_**two **_**presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? **_**Two **_**more presents. Is that all right?"**

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. **

Quite a few people laughed at that.

"So this is what it's like being in your head, Harry?" Neville asked Harry quietly with a small smile.

Harry shrugged.

"It's quite amusing how you observe people. I just hope you won't offend anyone in here if any of their first impressions are described," Neville joked.

**Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty… thirty…"**

Hermione and the rest of the Ravenclaws looked offended at his math skills, while everyone else either sneered or laughed.

"**Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia. **

"**Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then." **

**Uncle Vernon chuckled. **"**Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair. **

"Dear god, that's encouraging him!" Cho Chang shrieked from the Ravenclaw table.

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. **

Several purebloods asked "What?" but were shushed by the rest of the students.

**He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

"**Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction. **

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady **

Dumbledore frowned at that.

**who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned. **

"But I like cat pictures!" Katie Bell protested.

"You know who else likes cat pictures?" Angelina responded solemnly. "Umbridge. That's who. So no, you don't like cat pictures."

Katie blanched. "You're right! I don't!"

"**Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. **

**Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again. **

"Harry!" Hermione reprimanded him, lightly smacking his arm.

"**We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested. **

"**Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy." **

"Did they ever learn your name?" Colin Creevey asked curiously, upset that his hero was treated so awfully. "I mean, I know your aunt knows your name but I think your uncle had trouble in the last chapter."

Harry shrugged.

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there — or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug. **

"I don't think you look like a slug," Ginny declared, a light pink tainting her cheeks. Many females nodded along seriously, making Harry very uncomfortable.

"Thank you?" He said hesitantly, trying to ignore all of the glances he was getting from the female population after Ginny's comment.

"They're very right, young Harry," George agreed seriously. "You're quite dashing. It's something about your gangly form that really makes all the girls think you're dapper!"

"Don't ever say anything like that to me again, George," Harry demanded, a tad creeped out. "Even though you're joking it's too strange to be funny."

"**What about what's-her-name, your friend — Yvonne?" **

"**On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia. **

"**You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer). **

"Of course not! That would make you happy!" Hermione huffed, crossing her arms across her chest tightly.

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon. **"**And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled. **

"It's not like he's going to blow up the house," Ginny frowned.

"**I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening. **

Ginny blushed faintly at saying the same thing as Harry, but stood by what she said.

"**I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "… and leave him in the car…" **

"That's not even legal!" Hermione cried.

Professor McGonagall entered the room with the rest of the professors, Hermione's exclamation being the first thing she heard. She was half tempted to turn around and leave again.

"**That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone…" **

"Yes, I'm sure it'd be Harry's first goal to destroy the car!" Ernie mocked from the Hufflepuff table, currently angry at the way his old D.A. leader was treated.

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying — it had been years since he'd really cried — but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted. **

"**Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him. **

"They fit?" A second year Slytherin asked in surprise, looking up at Dudley.

"Not all the way around," Harry assured him from across the room. Petunia shot him a glare for that comment, but was ignored completely.

The second year nodded seriously.

"**I… don't… want… him… t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms. **

"Despicable child!" McGonagall growled, shooting the Headmaster a glare.

**Just then, the doorbell rang — "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically — and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once. **

"Well of course he'd stop crying, he wouldn't want his friend to see that," said Ron, glaring at his best friend's 'family'.

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside. **

"**I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, **"**I'm warning you now, boy — any funny business, anything at all — and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas." **

"He didn't mean that Potter, did he?" Professor Snape growled down at him.

Harry looked up at him, mildly surprised. "No sir. His threats tend to be empty."

Snape nodded but suspected he could be lying. He didn't like the way the boy avoided looking at his family, and looking him in the eye.

"**I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…" **

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did. **

"That's so sad!" Parvati and Lavender gasped, looking over at Harry with sorrowful eyes.

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen. **

"Yeah, but strange things always happen around Harry. It's natural for Harry. It wouldn't be right if Harry wasn't in the middle of some strange occurrence at Hogwarts," Ron stated, grinning over at Harry.

"Too right you are, dear brother of ours-" George started.

"-We could list everything so far, in fact!-" Fred continued.

"Rumors of dragons in first year-"

"-mysterious hospital visits-"

"- a teacher randomly disappearing-"

"-flying a car into a tree-"

"Yes, yes." Harry interrupted, partially amused and partially annoyed. "We all know that we can list dozens of odd occurrences! No need to advertise them!" He scolded half-heartedly.

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." **

Ginny looked at his hair in horror, much to the amusement of everyone watching the pair.

**Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. **

"That's the Potter hair," Remus grinned at Harry. "Your father was the same way, and it drove your grandmother crazy!"

Harry grinned back. He knew he got his hair from his father, but he still loved hearing things about him.

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he **_**couldn't **_**explain how it had grown back so quickly. **

"Accidental magic, Petunia," McGonagall snarled, looking over at her. "As you know very well."

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls). **

Luna smiled over at him dreamily, apparently liking the description of the sweater. Lavender, Parvati, Hermione, Ginny, and even Dudley among many others grimaced at him sympathetically.

**The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished. **

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. **

"What were you doing on the roof?" Ron asked, amused. He knew his best friend had some funny accidental magic, but he never went into detail other than the 'Marge Incident'.

**Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney. **

The teachers looked at him appraisingly, most shocked at how powerful his accidental magic was.

Seamus looked over at Harry. "You apparated!"

Ginny frowned. "I think you flew."

Hermione frowned with her. "How old were you, Harry?"

Harry shrugged at Seamus and Ginny, not sure which it was that he did. He thought he flew too, but the book would probably say. "I think I was seven?" He told Hermione.

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump. **

"So you did fly!" Ginny exclaimed, looking over at Harry proudly.

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. **

Ron and Hermione both groaned, looking over at him. "You just had to ruin it, didn't you!" Hermione scolded teasingly.

"Yeah mate. With your luck, you'll end up setting an animal free to charge and destroy or something!"

Harry grinned at them both mysteriously.

**It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room. **

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. **

"I gather that he likes to complain about Harry a lot," George said thoughtfully.

**This morning, it was motorcycles. **

"… **roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them. **

"**I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying." **

Hermione groaned, smacking her head into her palm. "Harry."

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: **

"**MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" **

**Dudley and Piers sniggered. **

"**I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream." **

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon — they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas. **

Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville looked over at him incredulously. "But Harry," Neville said slowly, "You do get dangerous ideas. You get them all of the time. And almost every time you get one you almost die."

Harry glared at him.

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. **

"Those are good," Dean nodded, despite him being annoyed with the way Harry and his girlfriend were acting.

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond. **

The hall burst into laughter at the accurate description.

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him. **

The hall stopped laughing as everyone turned to glare at Dudley.

**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first. **

"Fat git," Fred and George said angrily.

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last. **

Hermione and Ron nodded. "Exactly. That's what you get for saying ridiculous things like 'nothing was going to go wrong', or 'my plan will work!' It's your own fault, mate," Ron stated, nodding at his friend.

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Really, Harry. You need to be more careful about things you think."

Harry shook his head at his friends' antics, grinning at them both. "I'm sorry Hermione. I promise I'll be better about what I think. And Ron," Harry turned to look at him, "Don't knock my plans. My plans are great and you know it."

They both rolled their eyes.

The rest of the hall watched the Golden Trio interact, still amazed at how normal they seemed.

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can — but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep. **

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. **

"**Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge. **

"That's right, snake! Stand up for yourself! Be defiant! Don't move! You go snake! You go!" Fred cheered.

Alicia smacked him. "Stop being clever."

"**Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. **

"I don't blame the snake," Draco scoffed. "I'd want to sleep through meeting that god awful muggle too!"

"**This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away. **

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself — no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house. **

"You do realize you're comparing yourself to a snake, right?" Neville asked, looking at his friend strangely.

Harry shrugged.

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's. **

_**It winked. **_

"But snakes don't even have eyelids! They can't wink!" Hermione shouted, frustrated. The Ravenclaws turned to glare at her, mad because she said that before they could.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too. **

Hermione shook her head. _Only Harry. _

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: **

"_**I get that all the time." **_

"**I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying." **

**The snake nodded vigorously. **

Fred and George nodded along with the snake.

"**Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked. **

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it. **

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil. **

"**Was it nice there?" **

Ginny looked over at him. "You're talking to a snake. About Brazil. How did you not notice that it wasn't normal?"

Harry sighed. "I don't know. I was lonely, and I guess strange things happened to me so I was used to it."

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see — so you've never been to Brazil?" **

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" **

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could. **

"'Waddling'," Ernie snorted, smiling at Harry. "I love the way you describe things."

"**Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. **

Students who knew, knew of, or liked Harry all snarled, turning to glare at Vernon. The Headmaster could clearly be seen getting yelled at by several teachers behind a silencing charm.

**Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. **

**What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened — one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror. **

"What did you do?" Colin asked excitedly, leaning forward in his seat.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. **

The Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw tables cheered.

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. **

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, **_**"Brazil, here I come… Thanksss, amigo." **_

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock. **

"**But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?" **

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed**

"Great memories," Harry sighed, smiling.

**, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?" **

Ginny groaned. "So fat-boy gets you in trouble."

Harry nodded. "It tends to be him."

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go — cupboard — stay — no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy. **

"NO MEALS!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked. "STARVATION IS NOT A PUNISHMENT! ALBUS!" She turned to yell at the Headmaster with the other teachers, each one looking even more furious.

Students stared at him in shock. "How long did you stay in there, Harry?" Hermione whispered quietly, not trusting herself to speak normally for fear of cursing the Dursleys.

Harry cocked his head to the side. "Well, Dudders' birthday is in June, and they let me out sometime after summer holidays began, so a month? Give or take a few weeks, I guess."

Hermione and Ginny gasped, horrified. Remus passed the book to Hermione, stood up, and made his way up to the Head Table to join in with the yelling. Ron stared at Harry, amazed that he used to be jealous of him.

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food. **

Fred and George grinned. "There's still hope for you yet! Sneaking around at the tender age of ten! We're so proud!"

Hermione snapped at them. "Yes, but he was sneaking to get food because he needed it to survive! Not to get it just for the heck of it!" She hissed, glaring daggers at him. They put their hands up in surrender, shrinking back in their seats.

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. **

**Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. **

"How do you remember that?" Several people asked, some he knew, some he didn't.

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. ** **There were no photographs of them in the house. **

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family. **

All of the Weasleys scoffed, glaring at Harry. Ginny even went so far as to smack him and yell at him for "thinking such stupid things."

**Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. **

**After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look. **

"That's rude. Apparating away before Harry could see them," Susan Bones frowned, furrowing her eyebrows at the idea of doing that to a ten year old boy.

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang. **

Hermione finished reading quickly. "That chapter is done!" She announced, holding the book up. "It's up for grabs!"

Professor Flitwick squeaked and levitated the book over to him quickly, turning to the next page excitedly. He read the title and frowned, quickly leafing through a portion of the book. "This next chapter starts at the end of the school year!" He exclaimed, fascinated.

Madam Umbridge 'hem-hemed'. "Yes Filius, the book will be skipping to the most important parts of the school year or summer. So it would make sense if the next chapter is months away from the previous ones. If something comes to our concern, we can always ask certain students or teachers what was going on during skipped time periods."

The teachers and students looked interested, especially after watching the trio exchange nervous glances.


	4. The Forbidden Forest

"**The Forbidden Forest**," read Professor Flitwick, causing many murmurings.

**Things couldn't have been worse. **

"Ooh, what'd you do this time?" A seventh year Ravenclaw asked excitedly.

**Filch took them down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Hermione was trembling. Excuses, alibis, and wild cover- up stories chased each other around Harry's brain, **

"Whoa. This sounds serious!" Hannah whispered to Susan.

"I know!" Susan agreed. "What do you think they did? Or do you think they saw something they shouldn't have and gotten in trouble?"

"Maybe they heard something and got caught!" Hannah contemplated, then shook her head. "No, never mind. They must have done something really bad for Harry to be so panicked about covering it up."

**each more feeble than the last. He couldn't see how they were going to get out of trouble this time. **

"Yes, what did you do?" Remus asked curiously, looking at the trio. Ron smiled, shook his head, and pointed at Harry and Hermione.

Harry coughed, noticing that Remus wasn't the only one listening in. The entire hall was silent, including everyone at the Head Table, and they were all obviously listening in to find out what they did that was so catastrophic. "Well, you see, that's a, a funny story…" Harry trailed off, looking anxiously at Hermione.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "We snuck an illegal dragon out of the Astronomy Tower in the middle of the night and were caught coming down."

Shocked whispers flooded the hall, but Remus just nodded. "That should surprise me, but it doesn't really. Not with you two, anyway."

Umbridge grinned maliciously, scribbling something on a clipboard. She couldn't get any dirt on the boy from the first two chapters, all she got out of it was more support for Potter. But this, this could be what she was hoping for!

**They were cornered. How could they have been so stupid as to forget the cloak?**

"What cloak?" Ginny asked, not sure if she really wanted to know.

Harry just grinned down at her.

**There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the tallest astronomy tower, which was out-of-bounds except for classes. Add Norbert **

"Am I to assume that there was, in fact, a dragon?" Professor McGonagall asked, her lips pressed tight together. Harry and Hermione grinned sheepishly up at her. She took a deep breath. "And Norbert is the dragon?"

Ron grinned, nodding. "A Norwegian Ridgeback. Very vicious, that one."

McGonagall nodded, her lips pressing impossibly tighter together. "Very well then. Continue, please," She gestured at her colleague, who looked faintly amused and very interested. Minerva never told the staff that story.

**and the invisibility cloak, and they might as well be packing their bags already.**

"Oh. You have an invisibility cloak," Ginny said, nodding. "Wait a minute… You have an invisibility cloak and you didn't tell me! You've known me for five years and you didn't tell me! I've even been on one of your annual plots to get yourself killed and you didn't tell me! I was under the impression that almost getting myself killed with you deserved a little bit of an in on your secrets! Thanks a lot!" Ginny shouted, smacking Harry hard on the shoulder.

"Ow! Ginny!" Harry yelped, moving away from her to rub the spot her hand contacted him gingerly.

Everyone worked hard to contain their laughter, but Fred and George had no such qualms and started to roar with laughter, slapping the table with one hand while wiping away tears of mirth with the other. Their laughter started a chain reaction, and soon everyone in the Hall was laughing – excluding the Slytherins who were above such childish things as laughter, of course.

Harry pouted while the laughter slowly died down, glaring at Ginny who was glaring back at him.

**Had Harry thought that things couldn't have been worse? He was wrong. When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville. **

"Was Neville his arch-nemesis and he didn't tell anyone?" Dennis Creevey asked his brother angrily. "I thought you said Draco Malfoy was his arch-nemesis!"

"He is!" Colin squawked at the same time Malfoy squawked "I am!"

"**Harry!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw the other two. "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag—" **

Neville turned to Harry, amused. "You never told me there actually was a dragon, you know."

Harry shrugged. "Yes, well, I would have told you if I remembered, but I won't now because you're laughing at me."

Neville rolled his eyes. "Very mature, Harry."

**Harry shook his head violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towered over the three of them.**

"We know what you mean –" George grinned, winking at Harry.

"- as we saw that look every week-" Fred continued.

"- and it is quite scary." They finished together, although they didn't seem very frightened as they grinned proudly at the professor who was currently glaring at them.

"**I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr. Filch says you were up in the astronomy tower. It's one o'clock in the morning. **_**Explain yourselves**_**." **

**It was the first time Hermione had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. **

Fred fainted.

"Way to go, Herman," George spat, glaring at her hatefully.

"What did I do?" Hermione shrieked, indignant.

"You failed to answer a question! What is the matter with you?!"

"You-I-it was-" Hermione sputtered, then threw her hands up into the air. "I give up on you two!"

**She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue.**

Hermione sighed. "I was terrified. She did look really angry," she pointedly looked at George as she said this.

Harry patted her arm sympathetically, while Ron rolled his eyes.

"**I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor McGonagall. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. **

"I don't get it," Crabbe grunted to Goyle.

Goyle shrugged.

**You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?" **

**Harry caught Neville's eye and tried to tell him without words that this wasn't true, because Neville was looking stunned and hurt. Poor, blundering Neville — Harry knew what it must have cost him to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.**

"**I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall. "Four students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! **

Remus cleared his throat, raised an eyebrow, and frowned at Professor McGonagall. "What about the marauders?"

Fred and George both yelped, Fred conveniently over his fainting spell. They both looked over at him in excitement. "You knew the marauders?!"

Remus nodded slowly. "We've met."

If possible, Fred and George looked even more excited and seemed to be debating whether to get up and bother him about who they were or not.

Harry nudged him, smiling. "'We've met'? I seem to remember you saying something along the same lines as that to me. Very cruel, Remus."

Remus smirked. "Well, I wouldn't be living up to my reputation if I just told you, would I? I'd heard you were reasonably smart, so there was a modicum of possibility that you'd figure it out."

**You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. **

"Low blow!" Seamus winced.

**All three of you will receive detentions — yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom, **_**nothing **_**gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous — and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."**

"_**Fifty**_**?" Harry gasped **

"It is quite impressive for some firsties, looking back on it now," Dean commented, trying to think of any other incidences where a first year or two lost such a large amount of points in one swoop. "I haven't heard of any other first years getting that much taken off in one go."

"No, there was that one last year that blew up a cauldron that turned Snape's hair green, remember?" Seamus corrected his best mate. "The kid put too much porcupine quills in without stirring, and when Snape went over to yell at her, well, it blew up."

"Oh!" Dean snapped his fingers. "I do remember that!"

— **they would lose the lead, the lead he'd won in the last Quidditch match. **

"Don't worry about it Potter," Blaise Zabini said sarcastically. "Dumbledore will hand you the points back at the end of the year like candy on Halloween!"

"**Fifty points **_**each**_**," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.**

"So that's how you three lost all of those points," A seventh year they didn't know remarked, eyeing them. Others that were there when the trio was in their first year nodded along thoughtfully.

"**Professor — please —"**

"**You **_**can't **_**—" **

"Oh, bad move," Fred and George winced.

"**Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students." **

**A hundred and fifty points lost. That put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had had for the house cup. Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. How could they ever make up for this?**

"From what I've heard, you four more than made up for it," A third year Gryffindor grinned. "That's a Gryffindor favorite story."

Hermione looked very interested.

"Well, almost all of the stories that Gryffindors love to tell incoming first years involve you three, along with favorite threats, promises, and introductions," the third year explained after seeing her look.

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, muttering something about "Having to hear the stories myself to make sure I'm not put in a negative spotlight."

**Harry didn't sleep all night. He could hear Neville sobbing into his pillow for what seemed like hours. Harry couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him. He knew Neville, like himself, was dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what they'd done? **

The seventh years shifted uncomfortably with Harry's old Quidditch team members.

**At first, Gryffindors passing the giant hourglasses that recorded the house points the next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could they suddenly have a hundred and fifty points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Harry Potter, the famous Harry Potter, their hero of two Quidditch matches, had lost them all those points, him and a couple of other stupid first years.**

**From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Harry was suddenly the most hated. Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on him, because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the house cup. Everywhere Harry went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted him. Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped as he walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks Potter, we owe you one!" **

**Only Ron stood by him.**

"Of course!" Ron shouted, slapping him on the back.

Hermione didn't think she needed to point out that Ron abandoned him in their fourth year, as she didn't need any more problems involving these books.

"**They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Fred and George have lost loads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them."**

"**They've never lost a hundred and fifty points in one go, though, have they?" said Harry miserably.**

"**Well — no," Ron admitted. **

Fred frowned. "Well, brother dear, I can assure you that –"

"-we did try to accomplish that, but once the professors found-" George continued with a solemn expression.

"-out what we were trying to do, they wouldn't take off the points." Fred finished, sighing sadly up to the Head Table.

**It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Harry swore to himself not to meddle in things that weren't his business from now on. He'd had it with sneaking around and spying.**

To Harry, it seemed that the entire school as one turned and raised an eyebrow at him.

"And how long did that last, mate?" Neville laughed, partly from the ridiculous statement coming from Harry and partly from the offended look on Harry's face.

Harry frowned, crossing his arms. He didn't answer.

**He felt so ashamed of himself that he went to Wood and offered to resign from the Quidditch team. **

"One of the most stupid things I ever heard!" Oliver roared, shaking his head at his former seeker.

"_**Resign**_**?" Wood thundered. "What good'll that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at Quidditch?"**

**But even Quidditch had lost its fun. The rest of the team wouldn't speak to Harry during practice, and if they had to speak about him, they called him "the Seeker."**

The old team members shifted even more, even the twins felt guilty about that.

**Hermione and Neville were suffering, too. They didn't have as bad a time as Harry, because they weren't as well-known, but nobody would speak to them, either. Hermione had stopped drawing attention to herself in class, keeping her head down and working in silence.**

**Harry was almost glad that the exams weren't far away. **

"WHAT?" Fred, George, and Ron shouted. Hermione beamed.

**All the studying he had to do kept his mind off his misery.**

"That's not depressing at all," Cormac muttered, rolling his eyes.

**He, Ron, and Hermione kept to themselves, working late into the night, trying to remember the ingredients in complicated potions, learn charms and spells by heart, memorize the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions… Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, Harry's new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern him was put to an unexpected test. **

"Well, yes. I can see that happening," Neville teased, laughing at Harry's pout.

**Walking back from the library on his own one afternoon, he heard somebody whimpering from a classroom up ahead. As he drew closer, he heard Quirrell's voice.**

"**No — no — not again, please —"**

Su Li's eyes bugged out at the Ravenclaw table. "Oh sweet Merlin what are we hearing?!"

**It sounded as though someone was threatening him. Harry moved closer.**

"**All right — all right —" he heard Quirrell sob.**

"Who was he talking to?" Terry Boot asked his friends. "I think I missed something here."

**Next second, Quirrell came hurrying out of the classroom straightening his turban. He was pale and looked as though he was about to cry.**

"What was happening?" Students gasped, some afraid, some curious, others excited.

**He strode out of sight; Harry didn't think Quirrell had even noticed him. He waited until Quirrell's footsteps had disappeared, then peered into the classroom. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end. Harry was halfway toward it before he remembered what he'd promised himself about not meddling.**

Neville smirked at Harry as if to say 'I told you so!'

**All the same, he'd have gambled twelve Philosopher's Stones that Snape had just left the room, and from what Harry had just heard, Snape would be walking with a new spring in his step — Quirrell seemed to have given in at last.**

"Professor Snape was threatening a teacher?" Colin asked, looking up at the professor, frightened.

Harry rolled his eyes, answering before Snape could snap back. "No, it will all be explained in an upcoming chapter I'm sure."

**Harry went back to the library, where Hermione was testing Ron on Astronomy. Harry told them what he'd heard. **

"**Snape's done it, then!" said Ron. "If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell —" **

"What's an Anti-Dark Force spell?" Draco sniggered. "Did your mummy teach you that, Weasel?"

"Shut up, Ferret!" Ron barked back, ignoring Draco's red face and shouted threat of "my father will hear of this!"

"**There's still Fluffy, though," said Hermione. **

"Who's Fluffy?" Ginny asked.

"**Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," said Ron, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a giant three-headed dog.**

"Ah. I should have known he was a giant three-headed dog. What was I thinking?" Ginny snarled, turning to glare at Harry, who was shrinking back from her.

**So what do we do, Harry?" **

**The light of adventure was kindling again in Ron's eyes, but Hermione answered before Harry could.**

"**Go to Dumbledore. That's what we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves we'll be thrown out for sure."**

"**But we've got no **_**proof**_**!" said Harry. "Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor — who do you think they'll believe, him or us? It's not exactly a secret we hate him, Dumbledore'll think we made it up to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Snape, and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."**

"I still don't know how you found out about the Stone or Fluffy," Professor McGonagall snapped.

The trio studiously avoided meeting her eyes, grateful that the book seemed to skip around eight months of their first year.

**Hermione looked convinced, but Ron didn't.**

"**If we just do a bit of poking around —"**

"**No," said Harry flatly, "we've done enough poking around."**

Neville looked amazed. "I still can't believe what Harry is saying."

Harry rolled his eyes, huffing.

**He pulled a map of Jupiter toward him and started to learn the names of its moons.**

**The following morning, notes were delivered to Harry, Hermione, and Neville at the breakfast table. They were all the same:**

_**Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. **_

_**Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.**_

_**Professor McGonagall **_

"Isn't that late for a detention?" A first year Hufflepuff asked in a quaking voice, shooting nervous glances at her transfiguration teacher. A third year nodded and patted her on the arm.

**Harry had forgotten they still had detentions to do in the furor over the points they'd lost. He half expected Hermione to complain that this was a whole night of studying lost, but she didn't say a word. Like Harry, she felt they deserved what they'd got.**

**At eleven o'clock that night, they said good-bye to Ron in the common room and went down to the entrance hall with Neville. Filch was already there — and so was Malfoy. Harry had also forgotten that Malfoy had gotten a detention, too.**

"Lucky you," Neville grumbled, his good mood gone as he remembered that horrible detention.

"**Follow me," said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside. **

"**I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said, leering at them. "Oh yes… hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me… It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out… hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed… **

"That's barbaric!" Hermione huffed. "I completely forgot that he said that to us!"

"Hermione forgot something? It's the end of the world!" Ron responded immediately.

"Oh do grow up, Ron," Hermione frowned at him.

**Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do." **

**They marched off across the dark grounds. Neville kept sniffing. Harry wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted. **

"Truer words have never been spoken," Anthony Goldstein spoke up solemnly.

**The moon was bright, but clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Ahead, Harry could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then they heard a distant shout. **

"**Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."**

"Oh, they're with Hagrid!" Lavender chirped. "They'll be fine!" Lavender would be the first to admit that Hagrid wasn't her favorite teacher but even she realized that he knew his creatures, especially the dangerous ones. And if she would ever have a detention in the Forbidden Forest, which was full of aforementioned dangerous creatures, she'd want it to be with Hagrid.

**Harry's heart rose; if they were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn't be so bad.**

"Harry's right! They'll be fine! I can feel it!" Justin called encouragingly.

"What gave it away? The fact that they're sitting right across the hall, five years later?" Ernie snarked.

**His relief must have showed in his face, because Filch said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, boy — it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."**

The teachers frowned at their caretakers behavior. It was unacceptable.

**At this, Neville let out a little moan, and Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks.**

"**The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual. **"**We can't go in there at night — there's all sorts of things in there — werewolves, **

Remus coughed to cover up his chuckle at that.

**I heard." **

**Neville clutched the sleeve of Harry's robe and made a choking noise. **

Neville noticed the amused glances he was getting from other students and frowned. "Harry's the bravest person I know. Of course I'd hold on to Harry."

At the satisfied nods from the other students Harry blushed.

"**That's your problem, isn't it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?" **

**Hagrid came striding toward them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.**

"Why on earth were you going into the forest, in the middle of the night, when you were only in your first year? That's extremely dangerous! Not to mention the fact that it was dangerous enough for Hagrid, of all people, to take a crossbow and arrows with him into the forest!" Susan Bones shouted, not wanting to believe the completely unnecessary and unrealistic punishment they got.

"**Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Harry, Hermione?"**

"**I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly, "they're here to be punished, after all."**

"I think walking down with him was punishment enough," Neville muttered under his breath.

"**That's why yer late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."**

"**I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, **

Flitwick exchanged glances with McGonagall. They'd definitely be having a word with the Headmaster about his caretakers attitude sometime this next week.

**and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.**

**Malfoy now turned to Hagrid.**

"**I'm not going in that forest," he said, and Harry was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice.**

"Of course I was panicked. We were going into the bloody forest at night in our first year," Malfoy snarled.

"**Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it." **

"How strange. Isn't Malfoy's father finally doing that right now?" Terry Boot said meanly. "That must be a new concept to the Malfoy family, paying for your crimes and being punished.

"**But this is servant stuff, **

"Harry, I know I've said this before but I'll say it again. I'm so glad that you freed Dobby from these awful, horrible people," Hermione told Harry, gripping his arm.

**it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd—"**

"Tell you to be a man and rub some dirt in it!" Susan decided to finish Malfoy's sentence for him.

"—**tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled. "Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on."**

"Go Hagrid!" Colin cheered.

**Malfoy didn't move.**

**He looked at Hagrid furiously, but then dropped his gaze. **

"**Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks.**

"If it was dangerous, why were you allowed to go?" Marietta asked curiously, ignoring all of the glares from the D.A.

None of them answered her, and McGonagall bowed her head in shame.

**Follow me over here a moment."**

**He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.**

"**Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood.**

Everyone that had taken Care of Magical Creatures gasped. What could hurt a unicorn?

**There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."**

"**And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.**

"**There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid.**

"Yes, but I don't think whatever is killing them lives in the forest to begin with," Ginny growled, glaring at Harry as she noticed his reaction to her statement.

**"An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."**

"**I want Fang," said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth. **

"**All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid. "So me, Harry, an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Neville, an' Fang'll go the other. **

"I have a feeling the pairings aren't going to work," Cho Chang said thoughtfully, looking up at the Gryffindor Head of House. McGonagall, for her part, looked very upset at the idea of sending her first years into the forest now that she knew what they did in there.

**Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now — that's it — an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh — so, be careful — let's go." **

**The forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth path, and Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid took the left path while Malfoy, Neville, and Fang took the right. **

**They walked in silence, their eyes on the ground. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves.**

**Harry saw that Hagrid looked very worried.**

"_**Could **_**a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Harry asked.**

"Not fast enough," Remus murmured, fully entranced with the story.

"**Not fast enough," said Hagrid. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."**

Several girls gasped and looked around at Harry fearfully, as if to make sure he was still there. It seemed Hermione's explanation of him being very fanciable was true.

**They walked past a mossy tree stump. Harry could hear running water; there must be a stream somewhere close by. **

Hermione smiled proudly at Harry. "I never noticed that! You have very good senses."

**There were still spots of unicorn blood here and there along the winding path.**

"**You all right, Hermione?" Hagrid whispered. "Don' worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter — GET BEHIND THAT TREE!" **

Several girls and first years screamed as Professor Flitwick yelled the end of the sentence.

**Hagrid seized Harry and Hermione and hoisted them off the path behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. The three of them listened. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground.**

**Hagrid was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away. **

"**I knew it," he murmured. "There's summat in here that shouldn' be."**

"Well obviously," Theodore Nott scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"**A werewolf?" Harry suggested. **

Remus shot an amused glance Harry's way.

Harry, still cowering under Ginny's glare, didn't seem to notice.

"**That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," said Hagrid grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now."**

**They walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.**

"**Who's there?" Hagrid called. "Show yerself — I'm armed!" **

**And into the clearing came — was it a man, or a horse? To the waist, a man, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail. Harry and Hermione's jaws dropped.**

"Ooh, a centaur!" Lavender and Parvati squealed. "Maybe it's Firenze!"

"**Oh, it's you, Ronan," said Hagrid in relief. "How are yeh?"**

**He walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.**

"**Good evening to you, Hagrid," said Ronan. He had a deep, sorrowful voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"**

"**Can't be too careful, Ronan," said Hagrid, patting his crossbow. "There's summat bad loose in this forest. This is Harry Potter an' Hermione Granger, by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Ronan, you two. He's a centaur."**

"**We'd noticed," said Hermione faintly.**

"**Good evening," said Ronan. "Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?" **

"**Erm —"**

"**A bit," said Hermione timidly.**

Everyone, excluding the teachers, scoffed as one. "Yeah, okay. If Hermione only learns a bit, do we learn absolutely nothing then?" Seamus laughed.

"**A bit. Well, that's something." Ronan sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight." **

"**Yeah," said Hagrid, glancing up, too. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt — you seen anythin'?" **

"I don't know why he tried. Centaurs don't like to answer much," Remus frowned.

**Ronan didn't answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upward, then sighed again. **

"**Always the innocent are the first victims," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."**

"**Yeah," said Hagrid, "but have yeh seen anythin' Ronan? Anythin' unusual?" **

"**Mars is bright tonight," Ronan repeated, while Hagrid watched him impatiently. "Unusually bright."**

"**Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home," said Hagrid. "So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?"**

**Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. At last, he said, "The forest hides many secrets." **

Harry and Ron grinned at each other, memories of cars, giant spiders, dragons, and giants flitting through their heads.

**A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and - bodied and wilder-looking than Ronan. **

"**Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid. "All right?" **

"**Good evening, Hagrid, I hope you are well?"**

"**Well enough. Look, I've jus' bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured — would yeh know anythin' about it?" **

**Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan. He looked skyward. "Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.**

"**We've heard," said Hagrid grumpily.**

"**Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then." **

**Harry and Hermione followed him out of the clearing, staring over their shoulders at Ronan and Bane until the trees blocked their view.**

"**Never," said Hagrid irritably, "try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon." **

"**Are there many of **_**them **_**in here?" asked Hermione. **

"**Oh, a fair few… Keep themselves to themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if ever I want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs… they know things… jus' don' let on much." **

"**D'you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" said Harry. **

"Harry, you would have heard hooves," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, since she didn't have the opportunity to say it five years ago.

"**Did that sound like hooves to you? Nah, if yeh ask me, that was what's bin killin' the unicorns – never heard anythin' like it before."**

"Sweet Merlin, what was I thinking sending them in there?" McGonagall whispered to herself.

**They walked on through the dense, dark trees. Harry kept looking nervously over his shoulder. He had the nasty feeling they were being watched. He was very glad they had Hagrid and his crossbow with them. They had just passed a bend in the path when Hermione grabbed Hagrid's arm.**

"**Hagrid! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble!"**

"That's not good," Someone from the Hufflepuff table muttered.

"**You two wait here!" Hagrid shouted. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!" **

"That's stupid to leave them there! They're alone and defenseless!" Susan Bones shouted, channeling her inner aunt again.

**They heard him crashing away through the undergrowth and stood looking at each other, very scared, until they couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around them. [/b]**

"**You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Hermione.**

"**I don't care if Malfoy has, but if something's got Neville… it's our fault he's here in the first place."**

Neville grinned at them, touched that they seemed to care for him back there. "Thanks, Harry," he said.

Harry shrugged, grinning back at him. "You were our friend. Of course I'd worry for you."

**The minutes dragged by. Their ears seemed sharper than usual. Harry's seemed to be picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig. What was going on? Where were the others?**

**At last, a great crunching noise announced Hagrid's return. Malfoy, Neville, and Fang were with him. Hagrid was fuming. Malfoy, it seemed, had sneaked up behind Neville and grabbed him as a joke. Neville had panicked and sent up the sparks.**

"Mr. Malfoy, that's despicable! Ten points from Slytherin!" McGonagall shouted, appalled at his behavior. Snape glared at her resentfully but didn't say anything.

"**We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups — Neville, you stay with me an' Hermione, Harry, you go with Fang an' this idiot. I'm sorry," Hagrid added in a whisper to Harry, "but he'll have a harder time frightenin' you, an' we've gotta get this done."**

"That is true," Everyone agreed, looking over at a now blushing Harry.

**So Harry set off into the heart of the forest with Malfoy and Fang. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. **

"That's not good," George said, fearing for his honorary little brother.

"Yeah, we've never been in that far before," Fred agreed, nodding his head.

The teachers were all so caught up in their worry for the students that they didn't even register his comment about being in the forest.

**Harry thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. **

"Definitely not good," They said together.

**There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by.**

Lavender, Parvati, and several other animal lovers whimpered at the thought.

**Harry could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak. **

"**Look —" he murmured, holding out his arm to stop Malfoy.**

**Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer.**

**It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead. Harry had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves. **

**Harry had taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made him freeze where he stood.**

The hall was silent as Professor Flitwick paused, reading ahead. Everyone watched nervously as he seemed to pale, then look up at Harry fearfully.

"Well, I guess Harry is going to clear up the confusion of what is hurting the unicorns," Fred said cheerfully, trying to break some of the tension. It worked until Professor Flitwick read the next sentence.

**A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered… Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. **

The hall was silent in fear.

**Harry, Malfoy, and Fang stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.**

"**AAAAAAAAAARGH!"**

**Malfoy let out a terrible scream and bolted — so did Fang. The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry — unicorn blood was dribbling down its front.**

"Shit, shit, shit. Run Harry, run!" Ernie shouted, ignoring the teachers' disapproving glares for his language.

**It got to its feet and came swiftly toward Harry — he couldn't move for fear.**

"That is definitely not the time to freeze up, Potter!" Malfoy called, slightly afraid of what it was that he ran away from so many years ago. To this day he still didn't know what it was.

**Then a pain like he'd never felt before pierced his head; it was as though his scar were on fire.**

"What?" Many asked, completely confused.

**Half blinded, he staggered backward.**

"Well, at least it got you to move," George said faintly.

**He heard hooves behind him, galloping, and something jumped clean over Harry, charging at the figure.**

"Thank god," Many students sighed, even though Harry was perfectly alive and well in the room.

**The pain in Harry's head was so bad he fell to his knees. It took a minute or two to pass. When he looked up, the figure had gone. A centaur was standing over him, not Ronan or Bane; this one looked younger; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body.**

"**Are you all right?" said the centaur, pulling Harry to his feet.**

"**Yes — thank you — what **_**was **_**that?" **

**The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at Harry, his eyes lingering on the scar that stood out, livid, on Harry's forehead. **

"What was that whole scar thing about?" Neville asked Harry, very confused.

"It happens sometimes. I'm sure that by the end of my first year you'll find out why," Harry said, shrugging. He didn't feel like explaining himself when the book would most likely explain for him.

"**You are the Potter boy," he said. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time — especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way.**

"You rode a centaur?" Even the Slytherins looked reluctantly impressed.

"**My name is Firenze," he added, as he lowered himself on to his front legs so that Harry could clamber onto his back. **

"Firenze!" the divination students that have him cheered.

**There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Ronan and Bane came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty.**

"**Firenze!" Bane thundered. "What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"**

"**Do you realize who this is?" said Firenze. "This is the Potter boy. The quicker he leaves this forest, the better."**

"Why did he say that?" Ginny asked Harry quietly, gripping his arm tightly. Again, they both missed Dean's furious glare at them.

Harry patted her arm in a reassuring way. "Don't worry, Ginny. I'm still alive."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You avoided my question."

"**What have you been telling him?" growled Bane. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"**

**Ronan pawed the ground nervously. "I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best," he said in his gloomy voice.**

**Bane kicked his back legs in anger.**

"**For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!" **

**Firenze suddenly reared on to his hind legs in anger, so that Harry had to grab his shoulders to stay on. **"**Do you not see that unicorn?" Firenze bellowed at Bane. **

"**Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must."**

**And Firenze whisked around; with Harry clutching on as best he could, they plunged off into the trees, leaving Ronan and Bane behind them.**

**Harry didn't have a clue what was going on. **

"Not that he normally does," Hermione said teasingly, sticking her tongue out at Harry's mock outraged face.

"**Why's Bane so angry?" he asked. "What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?"**

**Firenze slowed to a walk, warned Harry to keep his head bowed in case of low-hanging branches, but did not answer Harry's question.**

"O' course not!" Hagrid grumbled, speaking for the first time. "Ruddy stargazers!"

**They made their way through the trees in silence for so long that Harry thought Firenze didn't want to talk to him anymore. They were passing through a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Firenze suddenly stopped.**

"Oh god," moaned Angelina. "What now?"

"**Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?" **

Those who did gasped, while the other students looked at the book expectantly for an answer.

"**No," said Harry, startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."**

"**That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," said Firenze. **"**Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."**

"That's horrible!" Parvati gasped, clutching at her heart.

**Harry stared at the back of Firenze's head, which was dappled silver in the moonlight.**

"**But who'd be that desperate?" he wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?"**

"Very wise," Hermione nodded approvingly.

"**It is," Firenze agreed, "unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else — something that will bring you back to full strength and power — something that will mean you can never die. Mr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"**

Many students still looked puzzled.

"**The Philosopher's Stone! **

"How the bloody hell did you figure that one out?" Seamus asked the trio, amazed. It wasn't common knowledge that the stone was hidden in the school even after five years, and the only reason he knew was because of something he overheard his mum say.

"What is it?" Dean asked, confused. Seamus just shushed him impatiently.

**Of course — the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who —" **

"**Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"**

"Voldemort," Harry hissed, ignoring every one's flinches.

**It was as though an iron fist had clenched suddenly around Harry's heart. Over the rustling of the trees, he seemed to hear once more what Hagrid had told him on the night they had met: "Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die."**

"**Do you mean," Harry croaked, "that was **_**Vol- **_**"**

"Was it him? Was it really him?" A Gryffindor second year asked Harry quickly.

Harry didn't answer, as it would ruin the book.

"**Harry! Harry, are you all right?"**

"Oh thank god. You're safe now," Lavender sighed.

**Hermione was running toward them down the path, Hagrid puffing along behind her.**

"**I'm fine," said Harry, hardly knowing what he was saying.**

"You always say you're fine," Ron stated, annoyed. Everyone that heard nodded in agreement.

Harry scowled at him.

"**The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."**

"**This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now." **

**Harry slid off his back.**

"**Good luck, Harry Potter," said Firenze. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."**

"Well that's not cheerful at all," Ginny growled, clutching Harry's arm in a death grip. None of her family ever went into detail about the trio's first year, and she was absolutely dreading whatever was obviously coming up.

**He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving Harry shivering behind him.**

**Ron had fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for them to return. He shouted something about Quidditch fouls when Harry roughly shook him awake.**

Ron blushed at the instant laughter around the hall.

**In a matter of seconds, though, he was wide-eyed as Harry began to tell him and Hermione what had happened in the forest.**

**Harry couldn't sit down. He paced up and down in front of the fire. He was still shaking. **"**Snape wants the stone for Voldemort… and Voldemort's waiting in the forest… and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich…" **

"What does that stone do?" Michael Corner whined from the Ravenclaw table, not liking that he didn't know what the stone was. "You three obviously found out! Can you tell us what it does?"

Hermione smiled modestly at him, while Harry tried to calm Ginny down and Ron stared at the empty plates longingly. "I'm sure someone in the book will explain it. If not, when our first year is over I'll tell you."

Michael nodded, satisfied.

"**Stop saying the name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as if he thought Voldemort could hear them.**

"It's just a name!" Harry insisted, staring down his best mate.

**Harry wasn't listening.**

"Of course not. When has he ever?" Hermione sighed, shaking her head fondly.

"**Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so… Bane was furious… he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen… They must show that Voldemort's coming back… Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me… I suppose that's written in the stars as well."**

"_**Will you stop saying the name!" **_**Ron hissed.**

"No," Harry frowned, crossing his arms.

"**So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone," Harry went on feverishly, "then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off… Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy."**

**Hermione looked very frightened, but she had a word of comfort.**

"**Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of, with Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."**

McGonagall nodded, still standing by what she said years before.

**The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over. **

"Merlin! How do you three manage to get into so much trouble in one night?" Katie Bell asked exasperatedly. "It's not anything bad, is it?"

The trio didn't answer, which didn't calm her in the slightest.

**When Harry pulled back his sheets, he found his invisibility cloak folded neatly underneath them. There was a note pinned to it:**

_**Just in case.**_

"Well, that's the end of the chapter!" Flitwick said cheerfully. "Who would like to read next?"


	5. Through the Trapdoor

**Sorry for the wait! I was in Disney World with my family all last week and didn't have my labtop with me! **

**Thanks so much for the reviews! I really appreciate every last one of them! They're what drove me to update as soon as I could!**

* * *

Professor Slughorn eagerly volunteered, thirsty to find out more about his new hopeful recruit's past. After all, it wouldn't hurt to know all that he could about his prized gem. "I would be pleased," he stated pompously, a smile on his fat face as he reached for the book.

"**Through The Trapdoor**," he read, but paused as he watched all of the teachers who set up traps pale. Shrugging it off, he continued.

**In years to come, Harry would never quite remember how he had managed to get through his exams **

"Enough said, Harry," Seamus laughed. "I feel the same way, every year. Last year was the worst, I reckon."

**when he half expected Voldemort to come bursting through the door at any moment. **

"Oh, Harry," Fred sighed.

"Sweet, naïve Harry," George continued, shaking his head sadly.

"Voldieshorts would never just burst through the doors. He's more subtle than that!" Fred lectured. "If anything, he'd fly like the overgrown bat that he is!"

"Or, if he's as big of a priss as I've heard he is, he might have his servants- I mean Death Eaters, excuse me- he'll have his Death Eaters carry him in and burst through the door for him," George continued, adding his own conspiracy theory to the mix.

"Nah. He won't do that, Fred," Fred disagreed. "I think old Voldie will go the old fashioned route and send Harry a letter informing him that he will be bursting through the door and that Harry is weak and defenseless and won't be able to stop him anyway."

"I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with that, George," George countered. "In fact, I believe that Voldiewarts will-"

George's theory was cut off by a very irate McGonagall. "If you're both done and pleased with yourselves may we get back to the reading?" she questioned.

Fred sighed and shook his head. "I don't know, Minnie. I don't think I'm completely pleased with myself yet…"

Her lips thinned. "I think that you quite are. That is enough," she spoke sternly, her glare challenging him to respond.

Fred and George both wisely kept their mouths shut.

**Yet the days crept by, and there could be no doubt that Fluffy was still alive and well behind the locked door. **

"That's a relief," Katie Bell said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She was easily able to ignore the Weasley twins' comedy routine, having known them for seven years now.

**It was sweltering hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written papers. **

The new first years looked terrified. One particularly little one in Hufflepuff asked fearfully "Are the exams always this awful?"

The prefects were quick to assure her that Harry was only exaggerating, though Justin and Ernie shaking their heads and mouthing "They are" didn't seem to help.

**They had been given special, new quills for the exams, which had been bewitched with an Anticheating spell.**

"I wonder what spell was used to do that?" Terry Boot asked curiously to his fellow Ravenclaws.

**They had practical exams as well. Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tapdance across a desk. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox — points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion.**

All who took that exam shuddered at the remembrance. The teachers, however, frowned. They knew that the fumes from the potion would interfere with their minds, causing poor grades. The Minister and Umbridge also seemed to notice this, and both scribbled something down on their clipboards that gave Snape an ominous feeling.

**Harry did the best he could, trying to ignore the stabbing pains in his forehead, which had been bothering him ever since his trip into the forest.**

"You should have said something to us," Hermione reprimanded, glaring sternly at him.

Harry shrugged. "I didn't understand it at the time, and you were stressed out so I didn't bother you about something that I had no idea why it was happening."

**Neville thought Harry had a bad case of exam nerves because Harry couldn't sleep, but the truth was that Harry kept being woken by his old nightmare, except that it was now worse than ever because there was a hooded figure dripping blood in it.**

Neville nodded faintly. "I understand now…"

**Maybe it was because they hadn't seen what Harry had seen in the forest, or because they didn't have scars burning on their foreheads,**

"Thank Merlin for that," Ron said teasingly, smiling at his best mate.

Harry rolled his eyes, but smiled back nonetheless.

**but Ron and Hermione didn't seem as worried about the Stone as Harry. **

"That's because we're not worrywarts like you," Hermione sighed, looking fondly at Harry. "Honestly, Harry. Your mind gets stuck on certain things and you can never get it off!"

"Well I was right to worry, wasn't I?" Harry asked back a bit smugly. "I mean, after what happened it was a good thing that I was so preoccupied with the Stone!"

"What happened?" Ginny asked sharply, looking between Harry and her brother. "What happened in your first year that you didn't tell me?"

"We snuck a dragon out of the castle?" Ron said back to her so weakly that it sounded more like a question than an answer.

Ginny glowered at them when they both said nothing else.

**The idea of Voldemort certainly scared them, but he didn't keep visiting them in dreams, and they were so busy with their studying they didn't have much time to fret about what Snape or anyone else might be up to.**

Hermione smiled slightly at Harry, knowing it was true.

**Their very last exam was History of Magic. **

Justin groaned. "Ugh. I forgot that they saved the worst for last! That was bloody awful!"

**One hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented selfstirring cauldrons and they'd be free, **

Snape sneered. The selfstirring cauldron was a waste of money and only the most mediocre of wizards bought it and actually used it.

**free for a whole wonderful week until their exam results came out. **

"Well, we'll all be free except for Hermione who stresses out for that entire week," Ron laughed, bumping his shoulder with Harry.

Hermione huffed. "Just because I care about my grades more than you does not mean that you can make fun of me for it! It means I'm dedicated and am concerned about my studies! It would do you some good if you had that attitude towards school work, too!" Hermione growled at him, miffed at him for once again finding a way to bring up her study habits.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Sure, Hermione."

**When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, Harry couldn't help cheering with the rest.**

Fred and George also couldn't help themselves and cheered as well, only stopping after a sharp bark of "Weasleys!" from McGonagall.

"**That was far easier than I thought it would be," said Hermione as they joined the crowds flocking out onto the sunny grounds.**

"Says the top student in our year five years in a row," Terry Boot grumbled.

"**I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager." **

**Hermione always liked to go through their exam papers afterward, but Ron said this made him feel ill,**

"It still does," Ron grumbled teasingly.

Fred and George nodded solemnly.

**so they wandered down to the lake and flopped under a tree. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were tickling the tentacles of a giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows.**

The twins smiled proudly and stood up to take a bow.

"**No more studying," Ron sighed happily, stretching out on the grass. "You could look more cheerful, Harry, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet."**

A few people laughed at that, making Ron puff up proudly.

**Harry was rubbing his forehead.**

"**I wish I knew what this **_**means**_**!" he burst out angrily. **

"What is he talking about so angrily?" Susan Bones wondered. "It's his first year! He shouldn't be so angry!"

Hannah looked at her oddly. "What are you talking about? Did you forget that we just read about how awful his childhood was? It would be strange if he wasn't angry!"

"Who are you? His mind healer?" Susan spit back. "He wasn't angry a minute ago in the book! Why is he so angry now? He's too young to be having the mood swings of a typical teenage boy! He's eleven! I know he's like that now, but come on! He was _eleven_!"

"Merlin, Sue," Hannah shook her head. "You're strange. Who put your knickers in a twist this morning?"

Susan let out a breath, her cheeks rosy from her sudden ire. "I'm sorry…"

**"My scar keeps hurting — it's happened before, but never as often as this."**

"Didn't his scar hurt when he was in the Forbidden Forest?" Michael tried to remember what he said about his scar at the Ravenclaw table.

"I think so!" Su Li answered excitedly.

"**Go to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione suggested. **

"Yes, go to Madam Pomfrey!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked, glaring down at Harry. The Dursleys nodded approvingly at the strange woman in robes shouting at the freak.

"**I'm not ill," said Harry. **

His old Quidditch team exchanged glances and all chanted "I'm fine!"

Harry scowled at them.

**"I think it's a warning… it means danger's coming…"**

**Ron couldn't get worked up, it was too hot.**

Ron blushed, glaring at Harry while everyone around the hall snickered.

Harry put his hands up. "Sorry mate!"

"**Harry, relax, Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. **

"Well, way to jinx that, Harry!" Tracy Davis laughed under her breath.

**Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. **

Many looked questioningly at the Professor in question, then at the trio for knowing this information. Unfortunately for them, neither Harry or Snape reacted to their stares.

**And Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."**

Neville grinned over at Ron, knowing he didn't mean it to make fun of him. "That is true."

**Harry nodded, but he couldn't shake off a lurking feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to do, something important. **

"That's why I hated my Remembrall! It would tell me I was forgetting something important but it would never tell me what!" Neville exclaimed suddenly, then blushed at the stares he attracted at his shout.

**When he tried to explain this, Hermione said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd done that one."**

"No 'Mione, I don't think that was it," Harry said teasingly, laughing at her glare.

"Don't call me that!" she hissed at him, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Again, the students were taken aback at how normal the three of them seemed.

**Harry was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though. **

"No, I suppose you wouldn't care about work," Hermione sniffed, upset at Harry using that dreadful nickname.

**He watched an owl flutter toward the school across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its mouth. Hagrid was the only one who ever sent him letters.**

Several students and teachers frowned at him sadly, but Fred and George grinned. "Don't worry, Harry! We'll be sending you a letter every day now!" Fred said happily.

"Yeah!" George grinned. "Of course they'll be howlers, but they still count!"

Fred nodded seriously.

Harry rolled his eyes at them but smiled nonetheless.

**Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy… never… but…**

"I feel like we're missing something," Cho Chang stated, frowning.

The rest of the Ravenclaws frowned with her, nodding.

**Harry suddenly jumped to his feet. **

"Definitely missing something!" Neville said cheerfully, grinning. "Of course, I'm sure Harry's not supposed to know what it is that we're all missing so it's not a big deal."

Harry scowled as the rest of the school, including most of the teachers, nodded.

"**Where're you going?" said Ron sleepily.**

"**I've just thought of something," said Harry. **

"Will wonders never cease?" George was in awe.

**He had turned white. **

"I assume that whatever it is that nobody else thought of except for you is very important," Ernie stated, looking over at a sheepish Harry.

**"We've got to go and see Hagrid, now."**

"**Why?" panted Hermione, hurrying to keep up.**

Oliver smiled proudly. "That's my seeker!" He then turned to look over at Harry. "See Harry? I told you running laps around the pitch would come in handy one day! And you thought I was crazy!"

"I still do," Harry muttered, shaking his head.

Ginny frowned. "Now really, Harry. You of all people can't be saying that. I've seen your plans for the Quidditch team this year, and I'm almost positive you have some running drills in the practice itinerary!"

"That's different," Harry shook his head. "I'm not nutters like Oliver."

"Just keep telling yourself that, mate," Ron chuckled, ignoring Harry's indignant "OI!" with ease.

"**Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? **

"Well, now that I think about it, that does sound odd," Anthony nodded slowly. "But I also find it odd that Hagrid wants a dragon more than anything else, so I don't know if I should be the one to judge."

**How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? **

"Hopefully few," Ron grumbled, thinking back to his swollen hand after that blasted dragon bit him.

**Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?" **

The teachers all frowned, knowing where Harry's train of thought was headed.

"**What are you talking about?" said Ron, but Harry, sprinting across the grounds toward the forest, didn't answer.**

Ron grinned at Harry mockingly. "We're always complaining when Hermione figures out something but then tells us nothing. My, my, Harry. You're doing that now! What a hypocrite!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't know what it is you're talking about," Harry stated primly.

**Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.**

"A picture perfect image of an uncivilized savage," Draco scowled.

Daphne Greengrass snickered to her little sister. "Do you think he knows that uncivilized and savage mean the same thing? Or do you think he's saying them in combination to appear intelligent?"

Astoria looked over towards where Draco was seated and smirked. "Look at how Parkinson is draping herself all over him! He's definitely trying to sound smart." She then sighed. "How unfortunate that it isn't working."

"**Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"**

"**Yes, please," said Ron, but Harry cut him off.**

"That was rude," Luna told Harry dreamily.

"**No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"**

"**Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off."**

"Hagrid," every student that ever talked to him groaned.

**He saw the three of them look stunned and raised his eyebrows. **

"He was at the Hog's Head then," Angelina frowned.

"**It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head — that's one of the pubs down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."**

"Isn't that still suspicious, though?" Remus asked to no one in general, not liking where the conversation was headed.

**Harry sank down next to the bowl of peas. "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"**

"**Mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah… he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here… He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I took after… so I told him… an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon… **

"Something that I will never understand," Ron shook his head, rubbing his hand.

**an' then… I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks… **

Fred raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Whoever this was really knew what they were doing."

Alicia glared at him. "And why do you know that?"

Fred answered her back, oblivious to her heated stare. "Well, everyone knows that the easiest way to get Hagrid to talk is to get him smashed. Or to flatter him. Either tactic will work with surprising efficiency."

"Fred Weasley, you are despicable!" she shrieked, turning away from him.

"What did I do?" Fred asked, turning to his twin to see if he had any idea what had just happened. At George's clueless shrug, Fred slumped down in his seat and ignored Alicia's glare.

**Let's see… yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted… but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home… **

"Suspicious," Susan narrowed her eyes.

**So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy…"**

"**And did he — did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice calm.**

"**Well — yeah — how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep —" **

"Hagrid, you didn't!" McGonagall whispered, looking stricken. Hagrid left the hall, mumbling something about chickens.

**Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.** "**I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey — where're yeh goin'?"**

"Off to go face off a three-headed dog, through the trapdoor, possibly die multiple times, but save the school in the end. So the usual," Fred and George grinned.

"Don't think that you will get away with what you advertised to the entire school about Hagrid," Angelina said lowly, effectively killing the smiles from their faces.

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.**

"That's probably because the entrance hall _is _cold and gloomy," Hannah sighed.

"**We've got to go to Dumbledore," said Harry. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak**— **it must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?"**

"You didn't know where his office was?" Several students who knew them asked in surprise, while Fred and George asked in shock.

**They looked around, as if hoping to see a sign pointing them in the right direction.**

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully, liking the idea of a sign. It would be awfully helpful to first and second years.

**They had never been told where Dumbledore lived, nor did they know anyone who had been sent to see him.**

The twins looked horribly offended. "What about us?!"

Ron rolled his eyes at them. "We had a three-headed killer dog on our mind, so we forgot about you two. I hope you can understand," Ron explained mockingly

The twins took him seriously, though, and nodded. "We understand," they said in unison. "Trouble making comes first."

"Very admirable," Fred commented.

"Honorable," George added.

"Respectful, even."

"**We'll just have to —" Harry began, but a voice suddenly rang across the hall.**

"That can't be good!" Michael groaned. "Knowing their luck, it'll be professor Snape.

"**What are you three doing inside?"**

**It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.**

"**We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione, rather bravely, Harry and Ron thought. **

"Well yes, thanks. I am a Gryffindor," Hermione said teasingly to them.

Ron took no notice, however, and was looking at Harry quizzically. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

Harry shrugged. "It was kind of written all over your face."

Ron didn't disagree, but continued to stare at Harry. "Are you a mind reader?"

Hermione sucked in a breath, preparing to lecture Ron on the art of Occlumency and defending against attacks. Harry luckily caught the warning signs of Mount Hermione and shook his head at Ron. "No, pretty sure I'm not. I'll let you know if that develops in the future, though."

"**See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to want to do. **

"With those three, anything they do is fishy," McGonagall grumbled, keeping her eye on the Gryffindor table.

**"Why?" **

**Harry swallowed — now what? **

"Thinking and responding to simple questions is beyond Potter's capacity, I can see," Draco sneered, earning a shrill giggly from Pansy in response.

"**It's sort of secret," he said,**

"Bad move again, Harry old pal," Fred winced.

**but he wished at once he hadn't, because Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared.**

"Very bad," George grimaced. "You're either going to get frosty McGonagall or fuming McGonagall. I can't say which is better."

"I think they're both equally terrible," Fred added his input.

"**Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said coldly. **

Many students groaned at that.

**"He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."**

"Why did he fly? Why didn't he just floo, or apparate?" Hermione wondered. Looking back on that little adventure, she found it a bit suspicious that the Headmaster wouldn't take quicker measures to get to the Ministry.

"**He's **_**gone**_**?" said Harry frantically. "**_**Now?**_**"**

"**Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Potter, he has many demands on his time – " **

"**But this is important."**

"**Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Potter?"**

"Yes." The school chanted loudly at her.

"**Look," said Harry, throwing caution to the winds, "Professor — it's about the Philosopher's Stone —"**

**Whatever Professor McGonagall had expected, it wasn't that. **

"No, it wasn't that indeed," She answered, shaking her head at her favorite students.

**The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't pick them up. **

"Wow! You really shocked her!" George shouted in awe, looking at Harry as if he had never seen him before.

"**How do you know —?" she spluttered.**

"Harry Potter knows everything that goes on at Hogwarts," All of the Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor first years chanted together, much to everyone's amusement and Harry's embarrassment.

Hermione looked around thoughtfully. "I suppose it's not just Gryffindors who like to tell first years stories about us. I really must hear some of these tales soon…"

"**Professor, I think — I **_**know **_**— that Sn— **

Snape's eyes narrowed.

**that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore."**

**She eyed him with a mixture of shock and suspicion.**

"Not out of the ordinary, really," Harry sighed. "I do tend to get that a lot."

"**Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said finally. "I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."**

The school scoffed at the stern Professor's naivety. Obviously since Harry Potter is involved it'll end up stolen.

"**But Professor —"**

"**Potter, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly.**

"No you don't!" A rather brave Hufflepuff fourth year sang.

**She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."**

**But they didn't.**

"Of course not."

Harry didn't even bother to look around to see who said that, considering everyone sitting around him said it also.

"**It's tonight," said Harry, once he was sure Professor McGonagall was out of earshot. "Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."**

Fudge nodded slowly in realization. "So that's why he showed up suddenly…" he said out loud, showing everyone just how stupid their former Minister of Magic really was- not that the public needed any more proof, of course.

"**But what can we —"**

**Hermione gasped. **

"Was your greasy git meter going off?" Ginny asked her sympathetically, trying not to let her worry for Harry show.

**Harry and Ron wheeled round.**

**Snape was standing there.**

"Bad luck, mate," Seamus winced sympathetically.

"**Good afternoon," he said smoothly.**

**They stared at him.**

"Did it burn your eyes? Did you get petrified? Did you die?" A rather frightened and confused Hufflepuff asked.

Their friend smacked them. "Of course they didn't, you crazy! They're sitting right there!" he whisper-yelled, pointing wildly towards the Gryffindor table.

"**You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he said, with an odd, twisted smile. **

"Aren't all of his smiles odd and twisted, though? Since the muscles around his face contort from long periods of non-usage?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione, who shrugged and huffed respectively.

"If you're going to be insulting, at least use proper vocabulary. I think you're looking for the word atrophy," Hermione grumbled crossly.

"Right," Ron smiled. "Wouldn't his face muscles atrophy?"

"**We were —" Harry began, without any idea what he was going to say. **

"You need to work on that," Ginny said with pursed lips. "I've noticed that you've gotten into a habit of doing that."

Harry looked affronted, while everyone who heard her comment laughed.

"**You want to be more careful," said Snape. "Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it?" **

"That was rude," Susan huffed. "Throwing that in their face without even knowing the full story…"

"But it's Professor Snape, Susan," Hannah reminded her best friend. "I think he takes pleasure in being rude to Gryffindors, with Harry in particular."

Susan nodded. "That certainly is true…"

**Harry flushed. They turned to go outside, but Snape called them back.**

"**Be warned, Potter — any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you."**

"He still hasn't pulled it off yet," Harry stated proudly, to general amusement.

**He strode off in the direction of the staffroom.**

**Out on the stone steps, Harry turned to the others.**

"**Right, here's what we've got to do," he whispered urgently. "One of us has got to keep an eye on Snape — wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Hermione, you'd better do that."**

"**Why me?"**

"I thought that would be obvious, Granger," Malfoy snorted. "You could pretend to wait for a teacher to ask about test questions. It wouldn't seem out of the ordinary at all."

Ron looked at him, disgusted at having the same idea.

"**It's obvious," said Ron. "You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know." He put on a high voice, "'Oh Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen **_**b **_**wrong… '"**

Everyone laughed. Some at the comment, others at the look on Draco's face for saying the same thing as Ron, and others at the glare Hermione was giving a cringing Ron.

Harry sighed, looking at his two best friends. "It's nice to not be at the receiving end of a glare," Harry said this thinking of all the glares he got from Ginny.

They both turned to glare at him, along with Ginny as she realized his chain of thought.

"Never mind then."

"**Oh, shut up," said Hermione, but she agreed to go and watch out for Snape.**

Harry and Ron both laughed as Hermione put her face into her palms.

"Why do I even bother?" Hermione muttered, her voice muffled due to her hands being in the way.

"**And we'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor," Harry told Ron. "Come on."**

**But that part of the plan didn't work.**

"Well, yes. But that wasn't my fault," Ron declared loudly, earning curious and amused looks. "It was a Harry Plan. And as you will all soon find out, I'm sure, is that Harry's plans never work."

Harry scowled at him. "What are you talking about? My plans work!"

Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and even Luna all raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really. Shall we list the plans that didn't work, or should we list the plans that did work to save time?" Ginny scoffed.

Harry's scowl deepened. "Whatever."

Everyone listening in on the conversation laughed at Harry.

Hermione coughed something that suspiciously sounded like "Yule Ball" while Ron also had a cough that sounded like "Polyjuice."

**No sooner had they reached the door separating Fluffy from the rest of the school than Professor McGonagall turned up again and this time, she lost her temper. **

"Oh," students that had been on the receiving end of her temper before winced.

"**I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!" she stormed. "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Gryffindor! **

Quite a few Gryffindors gasped at their Head of House.

**Yes, Weasley, from my own house!"**

**Harry and Ron went back to the common room, Harry had just said, "At least Hermione's on Snape's tail," **

"I doubt it," Neville grinned.

**when the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and Hermione came in. **

"See?" Neville laughed.

Ron stood up again and said loudly, "That was just one example of a Harry plan failing. I'm sure as we continue on with this bloody book, we will encounter more."

"Language," Hermione hissed reflexively at him.

"**I'm sorry, Harry!" she wailed. "Snape came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Flitwick, and Snape went to get him, and I've only just got away, I don't know where Snape went."**

"**Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Harry said.**

**The other two stared at him. He was pale and his eyes were glittering.**

"Do you get that look often?" Katie asked curiously, remembering that look once before a match.

Hermione and Ron snorted. "Oh yes. That is the look he gets when he's either about to do something stupid, something life-threatening, or something stupid _and_ life-threatening." Hermione stated, rolling her eyes in Harry's direction.

Katie nodded. "You seem well acquainted with that look, so I'll take your word on it."

"**I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first." **

"Of course you are," Ginny and Remus groaned, both turning to glare at Harry.

"**You're mad!" said Ron.**

"You really are, mate," Ron told Harry.

Harry frowned. "I am not."

Ron just patted his arm. "Okay, mate. Whatever you say."

"**You can't!" said Hermione. "After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!"**

"I doubt it," Cormac muttered, though loud enough for his voice to carry. "Harry Potter doesn't seem to get expelled even if he should."

Umbridge smiled almost warmly at him.

"**SO WHAT?" Harry shouted.**

"Oooh. Are we finally getting a taste of the Harry Potter Temper?" Fred grinned excitedly.

"We got to hear it last summer and it wasn't pretty," George told the people sitting nearest enthusiastically.

"It was fantastic. I especially like it when he throws things!" Fred cheered. "That's the best!"

Many students third year and below shifted in their seats at the idea of powerful, famous Harry Potter having a horrible temper.

"**Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? **

"We hear about it now," Susan sighed, thinking sadly of her late aunt.

**There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! **

Nervous glances were exchanged at just the thought of it.

Dumbledore glanced at Snape quickly.

**Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? **

"Harry was so mature as an eleven year old," Romilda sighed dreamily.

Hermione glanced over at her, disgusted. Was she even paying attention to what Harry was talking about?

**If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! **

Fred and George cheered.

**I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?"**

The awed silence in the great hall was broken by Slughorn. "Harry, m'boy! You are a wonderful speech maker! Have you ever thought of going into politics?"

Harry wrinkled his nose and didn't answer.

Slughorn made to continue to read, but was interrupted by an overzealous Oliver Wood. "Wooo! That's my seeker! That's my seeker! I bet you're a wonderful captain! How could you not be?! I'm so proud of you Harry! I told you all of the hours on and off the field would help! I told you!" he shouted, looking at his old teammates pointedly.

Katie slapped her hand over his mouth. "Sorry about that, Professor. Please carry on."

Slughorn seemed to shake himself out of his stunned silence and continued to read.

**He glared at them.**

"**You're right Harry," said Hermione in a small voice.**

Hermione smiled at Harry. "Your words really hit me then. I didn't think of the consequences of something like that happening back then."

"**I'll use the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It's just lucky I got it back."**

"Luck," Harry shook his head.

"**But will it cover all three of us?" said Ron. **

"**All — all three of us?"**

"Of course they're going," Remus said, giving Harry an incredulous look. "You've known them for a year now. You should have realized it by now."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Forgive me for not understanding what was going on," Harry muttered sarcastically.

"**Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?" **

"Exactly," Remus nodded.

"**Of course not," said Hermione briskly. "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? **

"And there's the little know-it-all we've come to know and love," Harry smiled cheekily at his best friend. "You were gone for a minute there!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Mature, Harry. Very mature."

**I'd better go and look through my books, there might be something useful…" **

"Of course. When in doubt, go look through your books," Malfoy sneered in a sarcastic tone.

None of the Ravenclaws caught the sarcasm and nodded seriously in agreement.

"**But if we get caught, you two will be expelled, too."**

"No, just Ron. Harry wouldn't get expelled," Dean snickered.

"I'd be offended if it wasn't true," Ron grinned.

"**Not if I can help it," said Hermione grimly. "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."**

Everyone stared at Hermione. "You got a hundred and twelve percent? On his exam?" Cho asked her faintly.

Hermione nodded.

"…Wow."

**After dinner the three of them sat nervously apart in the common room. Nobody bothered them; none of the Gryffindors had anything to say to Harry any more, after all.**

The seventh years all looked down guiltily, along with the old Quidditch players.

**This was the first night he hadn't been upset by it. Hermione was skimming through all her notes, hoping to come across one of the enchantments they were about to try to break. **

"Somehow I find it unlikely that there would be an enchantment protecting the Philosopher's Stone that a first year has learned," Anthony Goldstien shook his head. "They're probably all beyond NEWT level."

"But how did they do it, then?" Terry scratched his head. "I know they're good, but they couldn't have been that good as first years!"

**Harry and Ron didn't talk much. Both of them were thinking about what they were about to do.**

**Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.**

"**Better get the cloak," Ron muttered, as Lee Jordan finally left, stretching and yawning. **

Fred and George gave the obligatory cheer for their best friend who was, unfortunately, not with them in the Great Hall.

**Harry ran upstairs to their dark dormitory. He pulled out the cloak and then his eyes fell on the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas. He pocketed it to use on Fluffy — he didn't feel much like singing.**

"Thank Merlin for that," Ron smirked, ignoring Harry's glare.

**He ran back down to the common room. **

"**We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all three of us – if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own —"**

"**What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room. Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor the toad, who looked as though he'd been making another bid for freedom.**

"He seems to do that a lot, doesn't he?" Neville asked thoughtfully.

"**Nothing, Neville, nothing," said Harry, hurriedly putting the cloak behind his back. **

"Horrible liar!" Fred and George sang, then frowned.

"We need to work on that," George told him. "Don't worry, we'll help."

McGonagall shuddered at the thought of the son of James Potter being taught how to lie by the Weasley twins and vowed to never let them teach him anything of that sort.

**Neville stared at their guilty faces.**

"You guys did look really obvious," Neville shrugged.

"**You're going out again," he said.**

"**No, no, no," said Hermione. **

"Too harsh of a denial. That made it obvious," Ginny winked at Hermione.

Hermione huffed.

**"No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?" **

"We need to work with you also," Fred sighed. "Such a disappointment, the lot of you."

**Harry looked at the grandfather clock by the door. They couldn't afford to waste any more time, Snape might even now be playing Fluffy to sleep.**

"**You can't go out," said Neville, "you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."**

"**You don't understand," said Harry, "this is important." **

"I only now understand, Harry," Neville said cheerfully.

Harry scowled. He didn't realize that he never told Neville why they did what they did to him. "I'm sorry Neville. I completely forgot to explain anything to you…" He trailed off, obviously mentally berating himself.

Ginny rolled her eyes at him and grabbed his hand soothingly.

Neville rolled his eyes also. "Don't worry about it. Nearly dying tends to make you forget things," Neville teased quietly, not wanting to ruin the story for anyone.

**But Neville was clearly steeling himself to do something desperate.**

Both Dean and Seamus looked at Neville in astonishment. He had only just come out of his shell last year, after all. It was hard to imagine him standing up to the Trio at such a young age.

"**I won't let you do it," he said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. "I'll — I'll fight you!" **

"Longbottom said that? _Longbottom_?" Terry was astonished.

"Is it a requirement to be utterly mad in order to be sorted into Gryffindor?" Hannah wondered.

"No. Two words: Hermione Granger," Justin answered quickly.

Hannah waved him off. "No, the sorting hat was drinking before he sorted her. There's no other explanation for her ending up in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw."

"_**Neville**_**, "Ron exploded, "get away from that hole and don't be an idiot —"**

"**Don't you call me an idiot!" said Neville. **

"Huh," Dean shook his head, staring at Neville in wonder. "Who knew."

**"I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! **

Neville laughed at that. "Now that I'm hearing this again, I feel stupid. I can't believe I didn't realize it was your goal to break as many rules as possible."

"That is most certainly not our goal, Neville!" Hermione defended immediately. "We have no other choice most of the time!"

"Notice how she says 'most of the time.' I think that right there is the explanation for Hermione being sorted into Gryffindor over Ravenclaw," Justin nudged Hannah.

Hannah scowled at him. "You may be right…"

"… And don't forget that you have to be utterly mad to stay friends with and accompany Harry on all of his annual death trips," Susan tacked on.

**And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"**

"I get the impression that they didn't mean for you to stand up to them," Ginny laughed.

Neville blushed and shrugged.

"**Yes, but not to **_**us**_**," said Ron in exasperation. "Neville, you don't know what you're doing."**

"I wonder what would have happened if I did know what I was doing…" Neville said quietly, staring off into space with a look that wouldn't be out of place on Luna's face.

**He took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad, who leapt out of sight.**

"Stupid toad."

"**Go on then, try and hit me!" said Neville, raising his fists. "I'm ready!" **

"Hmm," Blaise Zabini muttered to himself. "I don't know. Looking at Potter now, I wouldn't want him to hit me. But from what I recall, he was a shrimp in his first year. It wouldn't have been so bad."

Tracy giggled at hearing that. "I don't know about that. From what we've been hearing from Oliver Wood, he probably had Potter strength training for Quidditch. I think he might have always packed a good punch."

**Harry turned to Hermione. **

"That's nice. When in doubt, turn to Hermione," Ginny teased lightly, trying to take her mind off of what was sure to come up, along with Harry's.

"**Do **_**something**_**," he said desperately.**

**Hermione stepped forward.**

"That's never good. It's always scary when Hermione has her mind set on something and you get in her way," Terry Boot shuddered, remembering an incident in the library involving the last copy of a book.

"Why do you think he looks so pained? What do you think his remembering?" Mandy Brocklehurst laughed to her friends.

"He must have done something to tick Hermione off," Su Li tilted her head in contemplation. "My bet is on something to do with the library."

Lisa Turpin pouted. "Well, I'd be stupid to take that bet!"

"**Neville," she said, "I'm really, really sorry about this."**

The hall waited with bated breath as Slughorn paused for dramatic effect.

**She raised her wand. **

"That's terrifying too," Ginny admitted.

"_**Petrificus Totalus!**_**" she cried, pointing it at Neville.**

The hall was stunned.

"I didn't know she had it in her," Lavender finally squeaked, stunned.

"I'm not surprised that she was showing violent tendencies even then," Draco loudly told Pansy Parkinson. "I've told you how mad she is, haven't I?" he asked her, referring to when Hermione hit him in third year.

"Another unprovoked attack," Pansy simpered, nodding her head sympathetically.

**Neville's arms snapped to his sides. His legs sprang together. His whole body rigid, he swayed where he stood and then fell flat on his face, stiff as a board.**

Hermione clapped her hands over her mouth as the memory of what she had done came back to her. "Oh, Neville! I'm so sorry about that!" Hermione cried. "I never meant for you to get hurt!"

Neville smiled at her. "Think nothing of it. It's water under the bridge, as far as I'm concerned!"

Hermione didn't look very convinced but stayed silent.

**Hermione ran to turn him over. Neville's jaws were jammed together so he couldn't speak. Only his eyes were moving, looking at them in horror.**

"**What've you done to him?" Harry whispered.**

"**It's the full Body-Bind," said Hermione miserably. "Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry."**

"I still am sorry!" Hermione said quickly, uttering more apologies to Neville.

"**We had to, Neville, no time to explain," said Harry.**

"**You'll understand later, Neville," said Ron**

"I think I still don't even understand now," Neville said thoughtfully, to the amusement of those within earshot. "I know I said that I understood earlier, but I'm still bloody confused."

**as they stepped over him and pulled on the invisibility cloak.**

**But leaving Neville lying motionless on the floor didn't feel like a very good omen. In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Filch, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on them. At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Mrs. Norris skulking near the top.**

"Bloody cat," most students snarled.

"**Oh, let's kick her, just this once," Ron whispered in Harry's ear,**

"Oh, yes! Kick her! Kick her! Kick her!" the twins chanted gleefully.

**but Harry shook his head.**

"Well you're no fun," the twins said sourly, frowning.

**As they climbed carefully around her, Mrs. Norris turned her lamplike eyes on them, but didn't do anything.**

**They didn't meet anyone else until they reached the staircase up to the third floor. Peeves was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip. **

"You three have got to have the worst luck I've ever heard of!" Stewart Ackerley, a Ravenclaw third year, laughed.

"It's Harry's luck, not ours," Ron and Hermione stated together, ignoring Harry's offended glare.

"**Who's there?" he said suddenly as they climbed toward him. He narrowed his wicked black eyes. "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?"**

"'Wee student beastie'? How did I not notice him saying that before?" Harry laughed, over his little mood.

Ron snorted. "I've no idea, but I didn't catch it either."

**He rose up in the air and floated there, squinting at them.**

"**Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen."**

**Harry had a sudden idea.**

"That can potentially lead to disaster," Alicia laughed, smiling at her 'little brother'.

Harry scowled at her. "Why is everyone always taking the mickey out of my plans and ideas?" Harry grumbled.

"Because they're awful," Ginny answered matter-of-factly. Seeing the look on his face, she shrugged. "If that was rhetorical I'm sorry."

"**Peeves," he said, in a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."**

The hall stared at Harry in shock at his brilliant quick thinking, but Fred and George looked at him like a new idol. "Oh sweet Merlin. How do you do it? Tell us your secret!" George whined, looking over at Harry in awe.

Harry gave him a faintly disgusted look. "What are you going on about now?"

"How do you get away with these things?! How do you figure out these things?! Tell us your secrets!" George literally stood up, gripped Harry's robe, and begged.

"Get off of me, George."

**Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock.**

Lisa laughed. "That would have been quite a sight!"

**He caught himself in time and hovered about a foot off the stairs.**

"**So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, Sir," he said greasily. "My mistake, my mistake — I didn't see you — of course I didn't, you're invisible — forgive old Peevsie his little joke, sir." **

"**I have business here, Peeves," croaked Harry. "Stay away from this place tonight." **

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Fred and George chanted. They were quickly starting to scare Harry.

"**I will, sir, I most certainly will," said Peeves, rising up in the air again. "Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you."**

**And he scooted off.**

"_**Brilliant**_**, Harry!" whispered Ron.**

"I think it's safe to say that we all agree with you, Weasley," Blaise Zabini said.

Everyone nodded, including all of the reluctant Slytherins and teachers. None of them had ever thought of doing that to get rid of Peeves.

**A few seconds later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor — and the door was already ajar.**

"So Snape's already there?" Lavender Brown asked excitedly.

"**Well, there you are," Harry said quietly, "Snape's already got past Fluffy."**

**Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all three of them what was facing them. Underneath the cloak, Harry turned to the other two.**

"**If you want to go back, I won't blame you," he said. "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."**

"**Don't be stupid," said Ron. **

"Yes, Harry. Don't be stupid!" Ginny shouted, smacking his arm. "I can't believe you really went down that trapdoor!"

Harry shrank away from her. "Ginny! This already happened! I can't suddenly not go down!" He yelled back, not understanding at all why she was yelling at him. "Why does this even matter to you?" He added quietly, watching different emotions flicker across her face.

Ginny huffed, crossed her arms, and turned away from him.

To say Harry was confused would be an understatement. He turned to Hermione helplessly, who was watching them with an amused look. "What did I do?" He whined, much to the amusement of everyone in the hall. There were bets going around for when Ginny and Dean would split, if Ginny or Harry would admit their feelings first, and things similar. This fight could win some people some serious money.

She shook her head. They were so obvious, yet too stubborn to say their feelings for each other. "I'm not even going to bother telling you. I'm sure you'll figure it out by the end of the book, and if not, Ginny will end up exploding and figuring it out for you."

The betters all shrank back, defeated. Nothing happened between the two.

"**We're coming," said Hermione.**

**Harry pushed the door open.**

"Merlin's Soggy Syrup Pancakes! Why does Slughorn insist on stopping for dramatic effect every time it gets scary?!" Hannah seethed.

Susan looked amused. "Who's the strange one now?"

"Oh shush up, you!" Hannah growled.

"Does she not know the definition of drama? Or what dramatic effect is?" Justin asked Susan conversationally.

"I don't think she does," Susan responded solemnly, ignoring her best friend's annoyed stare.

**As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. **

"I'm sure that was pleasant to be greeted with," Daphne muttered sarcastically.

**All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them.**

"**What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispered.**

"**Looks like a harp," said Ron. "Snape must have left it there."**

"I can't see you with a harp, sir," Luna said dreamily, sizing Snape up. "More of a ukulele or maybe a maraca," she stated to general amusement.

Snape looked sickened at the idea, and forgot to even yell at Ron for thinking he'd play a harp.

"**It must wake up the moment you stop playing," said Harry. "Well, here goes…"**

**He put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. Harry hardly drew breath. Slowly, the dog's growls ceased — it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.**

"Wow."

"**Keep playing," Ron warned Harry as they slipped out of the cloak and crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads. "I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Ron, peering over the dog's back. "Want to go first, Hermione?"**

"How thoughtful," Alicia Spinnet snickered.

"**No, I don't!"**

"**All right." Ron gritted his teeth and stepped carefully over the dog's legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.**

"**What can you see?" Hermione said anxiously.**

"**Nothing — just black — there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."**

Ginny smacked Harry's shoulder, knowing that he'd jump. Their fight seemed to be forgotten to her as she quickly grabbed onto his arm again, knowing that it was coming up to the part where Harry would try to kill himself once again.

**Harry, who was still playing the flute, waved at Ron to get his attention and pointed at himself. **

"Of course it's Harry that wants to go first," Justin sighed, shaking his head. "That isn't a surprise at all. In fact, it'd be surprised if Harry _didn't_ want to go first."

"**You want to go first? Are you sure?"**

"And of course he's sure. He's bloody insane," Justin added.

**said Ron. "I don't know how deep this thing goes. Give the flute to Hermione so she can keep him asleep."**

**Harry handed the flute over. In the few seconds' silence, the dog growled and twitched, but the moment Hermione began to play, it fell back into its deep sleep.**

"Well, at least you know that you're safe with the flute!" George shouted happily.

**Harry climbed over it and looked down through the trapdoor. There was no sign of the bottom. **

"And you just blindly jump?" Ginny snarled, digging her fingers into his arm in fear.

Harry, knowing that it would be incredibly stupid to test her patience by answering her, stayed silent.

**He lowered himself through the hole until he was hanging on by his fingertips. Then he looked up at Ron and said, "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?"**

"Why didn't you do that before you went to the trapdoor?" Professor McGonagall groaned.

"**Right," said Ron.**

"**See you in a minute, I hope…"**

"I bet that was comforting to hear," Susan sighed, shaking her head at Harry.

**And Harry let go. Cold, damp air rushed past him as he fell down, down, down and — **

**FLUMP. **

"At least it wasn't a SMASH," Natalie MacDonald from Gryffindor said quietly.

**With a funny, muffled sort of thump he landed on something soft. He sat up and felt around, his eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though he was sitting on some sort of plant.**

Neville's eyes widened. "That plant could be anything! You should get off of it and away from it right away!"

"**It's okay!" he called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor, "it's a soft landing, you can jump!" **

Professor Sprout frowned, cursing under her breath.

**Ron followed right away. He landed, sprawled next to Harry.**

"**What's this stuff?" were his first words. **

"At least you questioned it, unlike Harry," Hermione said sharply, sending a quick glare at Harry. Seeing he was currently being glared at by Ginny, she turned to glare at Ron instead.

"**Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall. **

"Oh yes. Anybody who went down there would most likely be a thief, but we wouldn't want them to get hurt, so of course there'd be a comfortable landing!" Pansy Parkinson sneered, rolling her eyes at their stupidity.

**Come on, Hermione!"**

**The distant music stopped. There was a loud bark from the dog, but Hermione had already jumped. She landed on Harry's other side.**

"**We must be miles under the school," she said.**

"**Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron.**

"You fell for miles?!" Ginny shrieked.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't think that was accurate. I don't even recall saying that. It must have been an exaggeration…"

"_**Lucky**_**!" shrieked Hermione. "Look at you both!"**

"That can't be good," Neville stated, looking over at the two boys in question. "I know of quite a few plants that could soften your landing and still be fatal. What were you two thinking?"

Ron and Harry looked at each other and shrugged.

"They weren't," Hermione sighed tiredly, rubbing her temples.

**She leapt up and struggled toward a damp wall. She had to struggle because the moment she had landed, the plant had started to twist snakelike tendrils around her ankles. **

"What would do that?" Natalie pondered.

"Do you think it's that fanged creeper plant thing that's in one of the greenhouses?" Dennis whispered to his older brother.

"I don't think that plant is harmful," Colin said thoughtfully. "I've only ever seen it take Professor Sprout's hat. It's more of an annoyance, really. But don't worry. Harry Potter will get through this."

**As for Harry and Ron, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing.**

"Devil's Snare," Neville paled.

"How did they not notice their legs being bound?" Cho was dumbfounded.

**Hermione had managed to free herself before the plant got a firm grip on her. Now she watched in horror as the two boys fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them.**

"**Stop moving!" Hermione ordered them. "I know what this is — it's Devil's Snare!" **

"At least one of you pays attention in Herbology," Professor Sprout sighed.

"**Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck. **

"It is," Hannah glared at Ron. "Now that it's been identified they can try to remember how to make it leave them alone."

**"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Hermione.**

"Light and heat, preferably a fire," Neville told the book helpfully.

"**Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" Harry gasped, wrestling with it as it curled around his chest.**

Ginny gasped in fear, latching herself fully onto Harry's arm. "I can't believe how stupid you are!" She snarled, though it was said in obvious fear.

Dean didn't even bother glaring at them anymore, knowing that it was inevitable that they would get together in the upcoming week, if not today. With a sigh, he turned to a group of seventh years and joined the betting.

"**Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare… what did Professor Sprout say? — it likes the dark and the damp."**

"**So light a fire!" Harry choked.**

"**Yes — of course — but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands. **

"'No wood'?" everyone mouthed to each other.

"Did she seriously just say 'no wood'?" Terry's mouth was agape.

"Well, I guess that could have also been a reason she didn't go to Ravenclaw," Justin admitted. "She seemingly forgets that she's a witch sometimes."

"Oh," Hermione groaned, embarrassed. Her face was bright red. "I forgot that I said that!"

"**HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"**

"Exactly!" Several people shouted.

"**Oh, right!" said Hermione, and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something, and sent a jet of the same bluebell flames she had used on Snape at the plant.**

"What!" Snape snarled, having a good idea of what she could possibly be talking about.

Hermione squeaked, ducking her head down.

Luckily for Hermione, Slughorn shushed Snape impatiently and continued to read before the professor could bite the girl's head off.

**In a matter of seconds, the two boys felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.**

"Oh thank god," Ginny sighed, giving Hermione a relieved smile for getting Harry out of being killed.

Harry just rolled his eyes, not understanding her mood swings at all.

"**Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione," said Harry as he joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.**

"Lucky indeed," McGonagall pursed her lips. She'd have to have a talk with her lions about the importance of paying attention in class. Maybe this accursed book will get through to them in the upcoming week.

"**Yeah," said Ron, "and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis — 'there's no wood,' **_**honestly**_**."**

Many students chuckled at the reminder.

Hermione squeaked and hid her tomato red face in her hands.

"**This way," said Harry, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward.**

**All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Harry was reminded of Gringotts. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, he remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If they met a dragon, a fully-grown dragon — Norbert had been bad enough…**

"Oh yes," George said loudly to Harry. "Just imagine the horror of a fully-grown dragon!"

"Say Harry," Fred started, just as loud as his twin. "What would _you _do if you had to face a fully-grown dragon?"

Harry rolled his eyes at their antics, but decided to play along. "Well, Fred, I think I would start off with running around rocks while it breaths fire at me. For the heck of it I would find a nesting mother and try to take one of her eggs. You know. For the thrill. To distract it, I suppose I would fly tauntingly around it on a highly flammable broom."

Fred clapped excitedly. "That's a marvelous plan!" he then turned to George. "A galleon says he faces a fully-grown dragon and puts that plan into action!"

The hall laughed at their false conversation, and laughed even more when Ginny smacked Harry's arm and yelled at him for "making a joke out of something you could have easily died in!"

"**Can you hear something?" Ron whispered.**

**Harry listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.**

"**Do you think it's a ghost?" **

"Maybe it's the bloody baron!" Dennis Creevey said excitedly.

"But why would he be a guard?" Colin asked.

"I don't know. It was just a guess…"

"**I don't know… sounds like wings to me." **

"YOUNGEST SEEKER IN A CENTURY!" Oliver roared, scaring everyone with his randomly loud outburst.

"**There's light ahead — I can see something moving."**

**They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. **

"That doesn't sound very dangerous," Ernie said dubiously. "I thought these challenges were supposed to be challenging. Birds don't sound challenging."

"They could be poisonous and try to bite you if you get close to them or something," Susan shrugged.

Ernie, Justin and Hannah stared at her.

"What?" she asked defensively.

**On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door. **

"**Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Ron.**

"**Probably," said Harry. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once… well, there's no other choice… I'll run." **

"Of course you will," Ginny snarled under her breath, gripping his arm tighter.

In response to her actions the betting pools flared.

**He took a deep breath, covered his face with his arms, and sprinted across the room. He expected to feel sharp beaks and claws tearing at him any second, but nothing happened. He reached the door untouched. He pulled the handle, but it was locked.**

**The other two followed him. They tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Hermione tried her Alohomora charm.**

"Wow. That door must be pretty advanced then," commented Seamus, grinning at Hermione. "If Hermione can't use a spell to get through it, they're doomed."

"**Now what?" said Ron.**

"**These birds… they can't be here just for decoration," said Hermione. **

**They watched the birds soaring overhead, glittering —**_**glittering**_**? **

"Birds don't glitter," Vernon Dursley roared, scaring everyone half to death. The Dursleys' had all been so quiet that nearly everyone forgot about their presence the past two chapters.

"**They're not birds!" Harry said suddenly. **

"Then what are they?" Terry shook his head. "This book is giving me a headache. There are too many unsolved questions."

**"They're **_**keys**_**! **

"Why would the key be in the room? If I was the one to set up this task, I would have taken the real key out of the room so that they'd never be able to get in," Daphne shook her head. "Why didn't the professors make this impossible?"

**Winged keys — look carefully. So that must mean…" he looked around the chamber while the other two squinted up at the flock of keys. "… yes — look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"**

"**But there are **_**hundreds **_**of them!"**

"Don't forget you're talking to the youngest seeker in a century, right Oliver?" Angelina bumped Oliver's shoulder.

Oliver was so excited that he was bouncing.

**Ron examined the lock on the door.**

"**We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one — probably silver, like the handle." **

"Smart observation Mr. Weasley," Professor Flitwick squeaked, smiling at him. His trap was the only non-life threatening one of the seven.

**They each seized a broomstick and kicked off into the air, soaring into the midst of the cloud of keys. They grabbed and snatched, but the bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one.**

**Not for nothing, though, was Harry the youngest Seeker in a century.**

Oliver made to stand and shout again, but was dragged down by Katie.

**He had a knack for spotting things other people didn't.**

"But you notice everything!" Many old members of the D.A. shouted exasperatedly.

**After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, he noticed a large silver key that had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole. **

Again, Katie had to hold down Oliver.

"**That one!" he called to the others. "That big one — there — no, there — with bright blue wings — the feathers are all crumpled on one side."**

**Ron went speeding in the direction that Harry was pointing, crashed into the ceiling, and nearly fell off his broom.**

Nobody commented, as everyone was distracted by Oliver's antics.

"**We've got to close in on it!" Harry called, not taking his eyes off the key with the damaged wing. "Ron, you come at it from above — Hermione, stay below and stop it from going down and I'll try and catch it. Right, NOW!"**

**Ron dived, Hermione rocketed upward, the key dodged them both, and Harry streaked after it; it sped toward the wall, Harry leaned forward and with a nasty, crunching noise, pinned it against the stone with one hand.**

Katie just gave up and put on a silencing charm of Oliver, letting him cheer and yell all that he wanted while saving everyone's ears.

**Ron and Hermione's cheers echoed around the high chamber.**

**They landed quickly, and Harry ran to the door, the key struggling in his hand. He rammed it into the lock and turned – it worked. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered now that it had been caught twice.**

"**Ready?" Harry asked the other two, his hand on the door handle. They nodded. He pulled the door open.**

**The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.**

"In a good way or a bad way?" Anthony Goldstein asked hesitantly, not sure if he wanted to know or not. His Ravenclaw nature gave in, leaving him very curious about what they had to fight next.

**They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. Harry, Ron and Hermione shivered slightly – the towering white chessmen had no faces. **

"**Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.**

"**It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room."**

"It wasn't wizarding chess, was it?" Hannah asked fearfully, looking over at the trio. She rather liked all of them, and didn't like the idea of them getting smashed to pieces.

**Behind the white pieces they could see another door.**

"**How?" said Hermione nervously.**

"**I think," said Ron, "we're going to have to be chessmen."**

"But Wizard's chess destroys all of the checked players…" Seamus trailed off in fear.

**He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.**

"**Do we — er — have to join you to get across?"**

**The black knight nodded. Ron turned to the other two.**

"**This needs thinking about…" he said. "I suppose we've got to take the place of three of the black pieces…"**

"Well, at least Ron is with them. I can't remember the last time Ron was beaten by anyone," Alicia stated rather weakly.

She didn't cheer anyone up out of their somber moods.

**Harry and Hermione stayed quiet, watching Ron think. Finally he said, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but neither of you are that good at chess —"**

Hermione huffed.

"**We're not offended," said Harry quickly. "Just tell us what to do."**

"**Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go there instead of that castle."**

"**What about you?"**

"**I'm going to be a knight," said Ron.**

"That is your favorite piece," Fred informed him.

"In case you didn't know," George added.

**The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words a knight, a bishop, and a castle turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving three empty squares that Harry, Ron, and Hermione took.**

"**White always plays first in chess," said Ron, peering across the board. "Yes… look…"**

**A white pawn had moved forward two squares.**

**Ron started to direct the black pieces. **

"So this is what Professor Dumbledore meant when he awarded you points for a chess game!" Parvati shouted, figuring out Ron's part in earning the cup their first year.

**They moved silently wherever he sent them. Harry's knees were trembling. What if they lost?**

"**Harry — move diagonally four squares to the right."**

**Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.**

"So it's Wizard's chess then…" Ginny trailed off, looking at her brother in fear while gripping Harry's arm even tighter.

"**Had to let that happen," said Ron, looking shaken. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on."**

**Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, Ron only just noticed in time that Harry and Hermione were in danger. He himself darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.**

"**We're nearly there," he muttered suddenly. "Let me think — let me think…"**

**The white queen turned her blank face toward him.**

"**Yes…" said Ron softly, "It's the only way… I've got to be taken."**

"No!" Most students and teachers shouted.

Ron blushed.

"**NO!" Harry and Hermione shouted. **

"**That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I make my move and she'll take me — that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"**

"**But —"**

"**Do you want to stop Snape or not?"**

"Why do you think it's Snape that's trying to steal the stone, by the way?" Cho asked Harry, very curious.

Harry smiled at her, causing Ginny to frown – not that he noticed. "You'll find out in the next chapter."

"**Ron —"**

"**Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!"**

**There was no alternative. **

Susan groaned, putting her face into her hands. "It never ends well when people say that!"

"It especially never ends well when Harry's saying it," Hannah added on meekly.

"**Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go — now, don't hang around once you've won."**

"Gryffindors," Theodore Nott shook his head. "So bloody noble and brave to the point of stupidity."

**He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor **

Ginny glanced at her brother worriedly and latched onto his hand, squeezing it with her own.

— **Hermione screamed but stayed on her square — the white queen dragged Ron to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out. **

"I did have a rather nasty knot on my head after that," Ron confirmed.

**Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left.**

**The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With one last desperate look back at Ron, Harry and Hermione charged through the door and up the next passageway. **

"**What if he's —?"**

"**He'll be all right," said Harry, trying to convince himself. **

"That's nice," Luna commented airily.

**"What do you reckon's next?"**

"**We've had Sprout's, that was the Devil's Snare; Flitwick must've put charms on the keys; McGonagall transfigured the chessmen to make them alive; that leaves Quirrell's spell, and Snape's."**

"Any trap Snape made can't be good…" Lisa looked over at Snape and shuddered. "I would never want to try to get past a trap of his!"

**They had reached another door.**

"**All right?" Harry whispered.**

"**Go on."**

**Harry pushed it open.**

The Hall was tense with anticipation.

**A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making both of them pull their robes up over their noses. Eyes watering, they saw, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one they had tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.**

"Ew," Lavender spat, grossed out at the description.

"Wait a minute. When was a troll tackled by them before?" Ernie scratched his head.

"You never pay attention to anything, do you?" Hannah gave him a nasty glare.

"What did I do?" Ernie asked, confused. "I just asked a question!"

"**I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry whispered **

"So am I," Ginny grumbled. "I don't think I could have handled listening to that described by your graphically detailed mind."

"My mind isn't graphic," Harry frowned. "All you're hearing are the details of things I had seen. I didn't think it as I saw it, I just saw it. Trust me, I never meant for my thoughts and observations to be put into a book."

**as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs. "Come on, I can't breathe."**

**He pulled open the next door, both of them hardly daring to look at what came next - but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.**

"And they're probably all poison," Padma Patil murmured, glancing up at their greasy looking professor.

"**Snape's," said Harry. "What do we have to do?"**

Snape's lip curled up. He couldn't wait to see how they managed to get past his trap.

**They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. **

"And they're trapped. Lovely," Lavender scowled. She turned to look at the trio and angrily said "I swear to Merlin if I have a heart attack I am blaming you three!"

**It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. **

"Why would the flames be purple? I've heard of blue magical flames, but not purple," Marietta whispered to Cho.

Cho had no answer.

**At the same instant, black flames **

"Well that sounds promising," Dean deadpanned.

**shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.**

"**Look!" Hermione seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. Harry looked over her shoulder to read it:**

_**Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,**_

_**Two of us will help you, which ever you would find,**_

_**One among us seven will let you move ahead,**_

_**Another will transport the drinker back instead,**_

_**Two among our number hold only nettle wine, **_

_**Three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line.**_

_**Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,**_

_**To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four: **_

_**First, however slyly the poison tries to hide **_

_**You will always find some on nettle wine's left side; **_

_**Second, different are those who stand at either end, **_

_**But if you would move onward, neither is your friend; **_

_**Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,**_

_**Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;**_

_**Fourth, the second left and the second on the right**_

_**Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.**_

**Hermione let out a great sigh and Harry, amazed, saw that she was smiling, **

"Of course she's smiling. She probably enjoyed figuring out that puzzle!" Ron commented.

**the very last thing he felt like doing.**

Hermione smacked Harry lightly, laughing.

"_**Brilliant**_**," said Hermione. "This isn't magic — it's logic — a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever."**

A few students tittered in their seats at that.

Snape's lip curled. Of course the Granger girl figured out the intent behind his plan.

"**But so will we, won't we?"**

"Harry. I can't believe you just said that with Hermione in the room," George stated, once again looking at him with awe.

Fred snorted. "You really _must_ be mad."

"**Of course not," said Hermione. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple." **

"**But how do we know which to drink?"**

"Patience, Harry," Hermione smiled.

"**Give me a minute." **

**Hermione read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands.**

"**Got it," she said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire — toward the Stone." **

"How long did that take you?" Terry asked, very interested.

"Five minutes maximum," Harry answered for her, rolling his eyes at her blush.

"You're in Gryffindor why?" he asked, looking at Hermione.

She blushed again, shrugging.

**Harry looked at the tiny bottle.**

"**There's only enough there for one of us," he said. "That's hardly one swallow."**

"Of course you'll be going alone. Is this a running trend with you?" Ginny snapped, glaring at Harry again.

Harry wisely chose to not answer her.

**They looked at each other.**

"Was there really any doubt of which one would be going forward and which would be going back?" Katie asked those around her exasperatedly. "As if Harry would allow her to go through instead of him!"

"**Which one will get you back through the purple flames?"**

**Hermione pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line. **

Snape had to admit that he was grudgingly impressed with how quickly and efficiently Granger sorted out his riddle.

"**You drink that," said Harry. "No, listen, get back and get Ron. Grab brooms from the flying-key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy — go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we need him. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm no match for him, really."**

"He's so modest," Romilda cooed, much to the disgust of those around her. It was really not the time to be obsessing over Harry.

"**But Harry — what if You-Know-Who's with him?"**

Many students gasped at the idea of that happening.

"**Well — I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again."**

"That's a horrible way to think about your situation!" Ginny shrieked.

**Hermione's lip trembled, **

Hermione blushed and looked down.

**and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him. **

"Is this one of those 'in case we die' things?" Justin groaned. "Those are always horribly sad!"

"_**Hermione!" **_

"**Harry — you're a great wizard, you know." **

Now it was Harry's turn to blush and duck his head.

"**I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him. **

"**Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things — friendship and bravery and — oh Harry —**_**be careful! **_**"**

"Hermione, I'm always careful," Harry told her.

She rolled her eyes. "So you say."

"**You drink first," said Harry. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"**

Ron stared at Harry. "Of course she was sure. Why would you even ask her that?"

"Nerves?" Harry suggested.

"**Positive," said Hermione. She took a long drink from the round bottle at the end, and shuddered.**

"**It's not poison?" said Harry anxiously.**

"**No — but it's like ice."**

"It was very uncomfortable," Hermione told no one in particular, but several people nodded.

"**Quick, go, before it wears off."**

"**Good luck — take care." **

"**GO!" **

"Temper, temper," George grinned.

**Hermione turned and walked straight through the purple fire. **

**Harry took a deep breath and picked up the smallest bottle. He turned to face the black flames. **

"**Here I come," he said, and he drained the little bottle in one gulp.**

**It was indeed as though ice was flooding his body. He put the bottle down and walked forward; he braced himself, saw the black flames licking his body, but couldn't feel them — for a moment he could see nothing but dark fire**— **then he was on the other side, in the last chamber.**

**There was already someone there — but it wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort.**

"That is the end of the chapter," Slughorn announced.


	6. The Man With Two Faces

**It has come to my attention that my character's reactions are too exaggerated. Let me repeat what I stated at the very beginning of the prologue of this story: THE CHARACTERS ARE OUT OF CHARACTER AND WILL BE EXAGGERATED ALL IN THE NAME OF HUMOR. If I butcher it, you have my sincere apologies. **

**I'm terribly sorry for the delay in getting this up! I was editing inbetween work, a vacation to Disney World (which was awesome!), finals and parties.**

* * *

The hall was tense with fear and excitement. Everyone was excited to hear firsthand about a 'Harry Potter Adventure' – the older years tell them to all incoming first years – but they were afraid because most of those adventures tended to include Voldemort. Or death. And neither Voldemort nor death were fun.

Fudge cleared his throat, before saying "I'll read next, if you don't mind." He then couldn't help but chuckle because who would mind anything he did?

Slughorn nodded absentmindedly, handing him the book.

"**The Man With Two Faces**," Fudge read loudly, before pausing to reread the name. "No, I must have read that wrong…" Feeling very confused, he continued on with the reading.

**It was Quirrell. **

All sixth years and above who didn't know gasped.

"That stuttering idiot that was afraid of his own shadow?" Angelina asked loudly, shocked. "He was the one trying to steal the stone?"

"_**You!" **_**gasped Harry. **

**Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all. **

"Are you telling me that he faked that bloody stutter?" Terry growled. "It interfered with our learning all year!" He shouted as soon as he saw Harry nod.

"**Me," he said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter." **

"He knew you'd be down there?" Neville asked, confused. Why did everybody else understand what Harry was doing but him?

"Well, it is very important for stalkers to be aware of what the object of their observation is doing at all times," Dean informed him. "It only makes sense that he would be able to predict Harry's action with reasonable certainty."

Ginny stared at her boyfriend, not sure whether she should be worried or not. Glancing at Harry, she shrugged. She might have unofficially stalked Harry unofficially a few years ago so who was she to judge.

"**But I thought — Snape —" **

"The greasy bat makes more sense than Quirrell!" Seamus agreed. "Quirrell jumped every time Goyle snored too loudly in his class!"

"That was awful," Daphne snickered to her sister. "I remember that sometimes Quirrell would jump when Goyle spoke because his speaking skills are par with his snoring skills."

"**Severus?" Quirrell laughed, and it wasn't his usual quivering treble, either, but cold and sharp. **

"That's… disturbing," Justin shuddered. "That's an unfortunate laugh to have; trust me, I've heard a lot during my time here."

Susan agreed. "There are some quite-" she paused to find the right adjective – "obnoxious laughs here at this school."

"**Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? **

Everyone excluding the Slytherins nodded, having Snape prove their point by glaring nastily at everyone.

**So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. **

Fred and George nodded, but soon scared the entire Hogwarts population by smiling evilly, glancing at the Dursleys, and writing something down on a spare bit of parchment. Those sitting nearest to them edged away after hearing the words "transfigure," "bat," "insect," "dad's paintball gun," and "hot pink."

**Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?" **

"That is true," Katie mused. "I mean, I personally never suspected that fumbling idiot of anything. The worst I thought he could do was steal a cookie from the kitchens and get caught in the process."

"But you don't really steal from the kitchens as you're more forced to take food by the elves," Angelina objected.

"Exactly," Katie answered firmly.

Everyone who had met the former professor couldn't help but agree with her.

**Harry couldn't take it in. This couldn't be true, it couldn't. **

"How unfortunate for Umbridge then that she swore upon her magic that this all happened and is accurate," Hermione smirked.

Harry stared at her. "You're scary when you're like this, Hermione."

"Like what?" Hermione asked innocently with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Ron glanced over and paled. "Last time you looked like this was when you were blackmailing Rita Skeeter last year. What happened?" he exclaimed, ducking away from Hermione's swat as she yelled at him to keep his voice down.

"I'll tell you later," Hermione hissed, glaring at anyone that gave her a look that could be classified as even remotely curious.

"**But Snape tried to kill me!" **

"When was this?" Ginny growled, clutching onto Harry's arm in a vice-like grip.

Harry patted her arm, trying to calm her down. "My broom was jinxed when I was on it during my first match, and we thought it was Snape jinxing it."

Ginny nodded, knowing the 'we' meant Hermione, which gave his statement some credibility. She didn't let go of his arm, however.

"**No, no, no. **_**I **_**tried to kill you. **

"You know, that was the first person who tried to kill me other than Voldemort," Harry said cheerfully, completely ignoring how Ginny squeezed his arm even tighter.

Nobody even bothered commenting about how mad he was to say that so casually and cheerfully.

**Your friend Miss Granger accidentally knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at that Quidditch match. **

"You did WHAT?" Snape shouted, his eyes narrowing to slits. So that's what she was going on about in the last chapter! "You insolent little-"

"Severus, calm down. I'm sure Miss Granger had all the reason in the world to act the way she did," Dumbledore reprimanded, sending Hermione a wink. "It won't do to have you interrupting during the middle of this tale! It's quite rude to Horace, not to mention the students!"

Snape sat in his chair, fuming. If what he was doing – a perfectly rational and logical response to the knowledge of being purposefully set on fire – then what were the moronic dunderhead students doing every ten seconds to add their own comments?

**She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. **

"Impossible!" Oliver roared. "My seeker is impeccable and would easily be able to pull off a-"

Angelina clamped her hand over his mouth. "Knock it off, Oliver. That was Harry's first game and he was fine!"

"And besides," Katie snickered. "He's not your seeker anymore! He's his own captain!"

Fortunately Angelina's hand prevented any more outbursts from the young man, though his eyes did go very large and muffled sounds could be heard escaping her grip.

**I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a countercurse, trying to save you." **

"**Snape was trying to **_**save **_**me?" **

"Why would he bother?" Vernon scoffed.

The students that heard sent him glares, while Fred and George leaned over their paper with threatening looks on their faces again. Remus and Seamus joined.

"**Of course," said Quirrell coolly. **"**Why do you think he wanted to referee your next match? **

"So that's why you wanted to referee a Quidditch match?" McGonagall asked loudly, amazed that she finally got the answer she'd been trying to get out of him for the past five years. "Huh. Who knew."

"Potter did, evidently," Snape sneered, turning to give Harry the glare he reserved especially for him.

**He was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny, really… he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to stop Gryffindor from winning, he **_**did **_**make himself unpopular… and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight." **

"Oh please! It's Harry Potter! Of course you're not going to kill him! Harry Potter just doesn't die!" Surprisingly Draco Malfoy shouted this. Now, mind you it was in a very negative tone of voice and shocked no one, but did earn him looks for shouting. To which he mumbled something about "my father."

**Quirrell snapped his fingers. Ropes sprang out of thin air**

"Well," Susan was regretfully taken aback. "That's impressive! I wonder how he managed that?"

**and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry. **

"**You're too nosy to live, Potter. **

"Well, you are nosy. I'll give him that. But saying that you're too nosy to live is taking it a bit far," Fred told Harry, reaching over to pat the arm his sister wasn't squeezing to death.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Fred didn't answer, just grinned and turned his attention back to the book.

**Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone." **

"_**You **_**let the troll in?" **

"There was a troll?" Luna asked, her voice becoming somewhat sharper.

"Of course. Harry wrestled it," George answered promptly. No one was sure if he was serious or not, though Ron and Harry's nostalgic grins didn't help - Neither did Hermione when she saw their grins and promptly slapped them.

"**Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls **

"I think Crabbe does too," Daphne mused to her sister in a whisper. "Though I'm not sure if it's a gift or if it's his native language…"

Astoria giggled into her arm at that.

— **you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there? **

"Is that a gift to be proud of?" Ron asked skeptically, looking over at his best mate, who was attempting to escape his sister's clutches. Since he had a large amount of money on them getting together during the reading of his second year, he chose not to say anything about her hanging off of him.

Harry attempted to shrug, being disabled slightly by the redhead who wouldn't let go. "He certainly was."

**Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, **

Harry and Ron once again shared grins.

"Oh honestly, you two!" Hermione's stern tone escaped the attention of no one as many craned their heads to listen to her tirade. "You both should not be acting proud and smug about what your imbecilic actions caused!"

Snape couldn't help but be grudgingly impressed with her choice in adjectives.

Harry quickly frowned. "I'm terribly sorry, Hermione. We're merely reflecting on the 'good old days,' as they say."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Who is 'they?'"

Harry and Ron both wisely avoided eye contact and pretended to not hear her exasperated huff.

**Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off — and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, **

"Was he saying this to you casually?" Justin asked hesitantly from the Hufflepuff table.

"Oh yes," Harry assured him, still wrestling for control of his arm now that Ginny was no longer distracted by Hermione. "He was very nonchalant about it all. I'll give him credit for consistency."

Justin and Ernie exchanged wide-eyed glances. "I can't tell if he's just naturally insane or if he's suffered one too many Quidditch injuries to the head," Justin murmured to his friend.

Ernie glanced over at where Harry was sitting and winced. "I'm thinking it's the former, but I hope it's the latter."

**that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly. **

"Shame," Fred tisked.

**Now, wait quietly, Potter. I need to examine this interesting mirror." **

"After all of those other obstacles he couldn't get past a mirror?" A second year Ravenclaw asked skeptically. "What's so special about that mirror, then?"

**It was only then that Harry realized what was standing behind Quirrell. It was the Mirror of Erised. **

Some students gasped in understanding – mainly Ravenclaws - while the majority looked confused.

"**This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell murmured, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this… **

Dumbledore smiled serenely at the many heads that swiveled in his direction.

**but he's in London… I'll be far away by the time he gets back…" **

**All Harry could think of doing was to keep Quirrell talking and stop him from concentrating on the mirror. **

"**I saw you and Snape in the forest —" he blurted out. **

"Seriously, what do you do with your free time?" Padma asked Harry, a tad bit worried for his sanity.

Harry smiled. "Listen to other people's conversations under my cloak, stalk teachers for information, resolve fights between Ron and Hermione, lead illegal groups, fight Voldemort, visit the kitchens, mock Death Eaters – " Harry was cut off by Hermione.

"Yes, Harry, we get it. But you're going to ruin some of your upcoming years!" she reminded him, resigned to his apparent calmness with his life being read for hundreds to hear.

"**Yes," said Quirrell idly, walking around the mirror to look at the back. "He was on to me by that time, trying to find out how far I'd got. He suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me — as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side…" **

Many people gasped as Fudge stuttered over his name.

**Quirrell came back out from behind the mirror and stared hungrily into it. **

"What kind of mirror is this that is making him so hungry?" Seamus grumbled. "This is so odd."

**"****I see the Stone… I'm presenting it to my master… but where is it?" **

**Harry struggled against the ropes binding him, but they didn't give. He **_**had **_**to keep Quirrell from giving his whole attention to the mirror. **

"So is this when you made it your life's mission to get into as many life-threatening situations as possible, or did that already happen? Because Quirrell is sure implying that you had some others as well," Ginny asked him, surprisingly calm.

Harry cocked his head to the side then shrugged.

**"****But Snape always seemed to hate me so much."**

**"****Oh, he does," said Quirrell casually, **

"Are all insane, evil people like this?" Dennis asked his older brother curiously.

Dean overheard and answered "I'm not sure on the evil bit, but Harry talks like this and I have it on good authority that many people consider him insane."

**"****heavens, yes. He was at Hogwarts with your father, didn't you know? They loathed each other. But he never wanted you **_**dead**_**." **

Umbridge huffed and scribbled something off on her little clipboard.

**"****But I heard you a few days ago, sobbing — I thought Snape was threatening you…" **

"Yes, what was up with that?" Ginny asked nervously, watching Harry's face flicker with disgust and anger before hardening. That didn't comfort her at all. Her calm attitude just went out the window.

**For the first time, a spasm of fear flitted across Quirrell's face. **

"**Sometimes," he said, "I find it hard to follow my master's instructions — he is a great wizard and I am weak —" **

"You mean he was there in the classroom with him?" Ginny gasped, now practically sitting in Harry's lap. Harry, for his part, looked a bit uncomfortable. His main focus, though, was calming Ginny down.

"**You mean he was there in the classroom with you?" Harry gasped. **

Fred and George snickered. "Ickle Gin-gin and Harrikins think alike!"

Ginny was so worried for Harry she didn't even blush.

"**He is with me wherever I go," said Quirrell quietly. **

"I'm not sure I want to know what that means," Su Li shivered.

**"I met him when I travelled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort **

"He just called him Voldemort, odd. I didn't notice that the first time around," Harry said thoughtfully, seemingly unaffected by his encounter with a death eater and Voldemort himself for all anyone else knew. "They tend to call him the Dark Lord."

**showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it… Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me." Quirrell shivered suddenly. "He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me… decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me…"**

"What does that mean?" Parvati squealed, clutching onto Lavender in a tight hug.

**Quirrell's voice trailed away. Harry was remembering his trip to Diagon Alley — how could he have been so stupid? He'd **_**seen **_**Quirrell there that very day, shaken hands with him in the Leaky Cauldron. **

"It's not as if you had any reason to distrust him, Harry," Hermione said comfortingly, patting him on the back.

Ron nodded. "Yeah, mate. How could you have known?"

**Quirrell cursed under his breath. **

"**I don't understand… is the Stone **_**inside **_**the mirror? Should I break it?" **

**Harry's mind was racing. What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment, he thought, is to find the Stone before Quirrell does. So if I look in the mirror, I should see myself finding it — which means I'll see where it's hidden! **

"So is that how the mirror works, then?" Ernie asked, still a bit confused about what exactly the mirror was.

Harry nodded absentmindedly, still trying to convince Ginny that he wasn't going to die. He didn't understand the girl at all, but decided he didn't mind her closeness or her apparent worries for his life.

**But how can I look without Quirrell realizing what I'm up to? **

**He tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without Quirrell noticing, but the ropes around his ankles were too tight: he tripped and fell over.**

The situation was too stressful for anyone to make a joke about him tripping. Even Fred and George restrained themselves, but that could have been because they were busy smiling evilly at the Dursleys.

**Quirrell ignored him. **

"That's nice of him," Colin frowned.

**He was still talking to himself. **

"Which is completely normal," Alicia shook her head in disgust for her former teacher.

"**What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!" **

"What the bloody hell does he mean by that? Is he in the room?!" Cho shouted, looking at her former flame in horror.

**And to Harry's horror, a voice answered, **

"That can't be good," Padma whispered, shaking her head.

**and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself. **

"What?" Everyone was confused more than ever by that.

"**Use the boy… Use the boy…" **

"No, don't use the boy. Really, he's not that much of a help! He's actually not that bright anyways!" George pleaded with the book, totally serious. He conveniently didn't hear Harry's protesting "Oi!"

**Quirrell rounded on Harry. **

"**Yes — Potter — come here." **

"No, Harry, I really should advise you against going there!" Fred shouted.

**He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding Harry fell off. **

"I want to learn how to do that!" A little first year Gryffindor stated quite earnestly.

His friend shushed him with a scowl.

**Harry got slowly to his feet. **

"So you won't listen to me, but you will listen to a Death Eater talking to the Dark Lord?" Snape asked, exasperated.

Harry shrugged.

"**Come here," Quirrell repeated. "Look in the mirror and tell me what you see." **

"Is Quirrell worried that Harry won't see the same food he's seeing?" Seamus asked. "Because I'm pretty sure he was hungry last time he was looking in the mirror."

Dean put his face in his hands, shaking his head in embarrassment at his friend.

**Harry walked toward him. **

_**I must lie**_**, he thought desperately**_**. I must look and lie about what I see, that's all. **_

"Yes, Harry, that's all! But haven't we already told you that you can't lie for shit!" George shrieked, very much into the story.

Harry gave him an offended look.

McGonagall was too afraid for one of her favorite's student's life, therefore leaving her unable to scold him for his language. The other teachers just didn't care.

**Quirrell moved close behind him. Harry breathed in the funny smell that seemed to come from Quirrell's turban. **

"Why was that mentioned? It wouldn't be mentioned if it wasn't important," Terry narrowed his eyes at the book in his fat professor's hands.

"Well, maybe it's just another case of Harry being too observant for his own good?" Michael offered as an answer, remembering Hermione's words from when they read about their detention in the Forbidden Forest.

**He closed his eyes, stepped in front of the mirror, and opened them again. **

**He saw his reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at him. **

"Reflections don't normally do that," Katie narrowed her eyes.

**It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket — and as it did so, Harry felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Somehow — incredibly —**_**he'd gotten the Stone. **_

"How the hell did you do that?" Many people asked, turning to stare at their hero for an explanation.

Harry smiled mysteriously. "Magic."

"**Well?" said Quirrell impatiently. "What do you see?" **

**Harry screwed up his courage. **

"It doesn't seem like that's particularly hard for you to do," Ginny grumbled to Harry.

Harry shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Ginny pursed her lips but said no more.

"**I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore," he invented. "I — I've won the house cup for Gryffindor." **

"That's not bad of a lie, considering you were a first year and all," Michael said thoughtfully, nodding approvingly at Harry.

"Yes, Harry. That was better," Fred and George approved. "But I doubt he'd believe you. He'd have to be an idiot to believe you."

Harry smirked.

**Quirrell cursed again. **

"We take that back," Fred said bitterly.

George sighed. "We had that coming, my lovely, stunningly handsome brother. Quirrell was an idiot, so it shouldn't have been a surprise."

"**Get out of the way," he said. As Harry moved aside, **

Snape's scowl deepened as he once again listened to Potter obeying what the Dark Lord said. Why couldn't Potter do that in his classroom?

**he felt the Philosopher's Stone against his leg. Dare he make a break for it? **

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" The same brave Hufflepuff that sang mockingly to a professor during the last chapter chanted.

**But he hadn't walked five paces before a high voice spoke, though Quirrell wasn't moving his lips. **

"Holy Merlin's Upside-Down Pineapple Cake! You-Know-Who's in the room with you!" Many people gasped, using different variations and phrases.

"**He lies… He lies…" **

"That's not good. Definitely not good!" Padma paled, looking over at her sister's year mate. Harry was again comforting the small girl who had taken up residence on his lap and was hugging his arm tightly. She promptly put money on them getting together in his next year over at the Ravenclaw betting pool.

"**Potter, come back here!" Quirrell shouted. "Tell me the truth! What did you just see?" **

**The high voice spoke again. **"**Let me speak to him… face-to-face…" **

"What does that mean? What does that mean! Harry James Potter! What the bloody hell does that mean!" Ginny shouted angrily, turning to look directly into his emerald eyes.

His eyes widened in fright at the sight of the small girl glaring ferociously at him so close up. "Ginny, calm down. Just relax! Take deep breaths. In and out. In and out."

She growled. "Shut up. Answer me, dammit!"

His eyes widened even further. "How about we let Fudge continue reading that way I don't have to explain it to you?" He asked hopefully.

She narrowed her eyes, but turned around. She shifted in his lap to look over at Fudge, who looked to oddly be placing a sack of money on the table by Professor Flitwick. Ginny dismissed it quickly; too busy worrying for Harry's life to think about it.

"**Master, you are not strong enough!" **

"**I have strength enough… for this…" **

"That really doesn't sound good," a few Hufflepuff first years whimpered.

**Harry felt as if Devil's Snare was rooting him to the spot. **

"No, that was a few minutes ago," Ron stated, while other students were shouting at the book for freezing up.

**He couldn't move a muscle. Petrified, he watched as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap his turban. **

"Why is he unwrapping his… his… Merlin's Left Saggy Nipple…" Dean trailed off, seemingly figuring out what was under the turban.

**What was going on? **

"That's what I want to know!" Some brave soul from the sea of Ravenclaw blue shouted in exasperation.

**The turban fell away. Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it. **

George couldn't help but snicker at that.

**Then he turned slowly on the spot. **

**Harry would have screamed, but he couldn't make a sound. **

The hall was very similar, everyone tense and silent.

**Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Harry had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake. **

Many girls screamed, their faces swiveling from the book to Harry and back, while the rest of the students paled when they realized what it meant. Ginny had her face buried into Harry's shoulder, seeming to comfort herself with the fact that he was alive and she was able to do that. The teachers were all very pale, and the Dursleys seemed confused. Remus gaped at his surrogate nephew, speechless. Nobody knew what to say.

"You never went into that much detail…" Hermione whispered, unbelievably frightened for her best friend.

Harry shrugged, rubbing soothing circles into Ginny's back. "I figured that you didn't need the details."

Hermione nodded faintly in agreement.

"**Harry Potter…" it whispered. **

**Harry tried to take a step backward but his legs wouldn't move. **

"**See what I have become?" the face said. **

"I wish I hadn't," Harry muttered, glaring at the table.

"**Mere shadow and vapor… I have form only when I can share another's body… but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds… **

"Bloody idiots," Harry snarled, shooting a look over at a composed looking Slytherin table.

**Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks… **

Lavender let out a little sob as she thought about a unicorn being killed for You-Know-Who's sick purposes.

**you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest… **

"So that _was _him?" Malfoy asked, his pale face seeming waxy.

**and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own… Now… why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?" **

"How did he know the stone was in your pocket?" Ron asked, not remembering Harry mentioning that part to him in the hospital wing.

Harry shrugged.

Snape, however, had an answer. "The Dark Lord is a master Legilimens, Weasley, not that I expect you to know what that is."

Ron scowled up at his hated Professor but was fortunately stopped from responding by Hermione as she put her arm on his hand and shook her head.

**So he knew. The feeling suddenly surged back into Harry's legs. He stumbled backward. **

"Your courage always comes in gushes when you need it," Hermione said fondly, smiling at Harry.

Ginny nodded thankfully into his shoulder, wrapping her arms tighter around his arm. "I've decided it's a good thing," she whispered to him, referring to their previous conversation of him being able to muster up his courage easily.

Harry smiled slightly at her.

"**Don't be a fool," snarled the face. "Better save your own life and join me… or you'll meet the same end as your parents… They died begging me for mercy…" **

The smile quickly dropped off his face as Harry glared murderously at the table, his body shaking in anger at Voldemort's words. He knew them to be false, and that his mother died begging for mercy for _him._

"**LIAR!" Harry shouted suddenly. **

**Quirrell was walking backward at him, so that Voldemort could still see him. The evil face was now smiling. **

Everyone shuddered, trying not to imagine it.

"**How touching…" it hissed. "I always value bravery… Yes, boy, your parents were brave… I killed your father first; and he put up a courageous fight… **

"I can't believe he's saying these awful things to you," Ginny whispered into his shoulder, looking up at him with tear filled eyes. "I don't understand how he could say these things so casually to an eleven year old!"

Harry nodded, looking down at her once again. "I know Ginny. But believe me, he's said much worse. He's just trying to get under my skin, that's all," he said, trying to comfort her.

She smiled back shakily.

**but your mother needn't have died… she was trying to protect you… Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."**

"How could he say that!" Remus growled, angry beyond belief at the monster's lies. He knew James and Lily would never beg for themselves. He could only hope Harry didn't believe him.

"**NEVER!" **

**Harry sprang toward the flame door, but Voldemort screamed "SEIZE HIM!" and the next second, Harry felt Quirrell's hand close on his wrist. At once, a needle-sharp pain seared across Harry's scar; his head felt as though it was about to split in two; **

"It's because of Voldemort," Harry explained the unasked question to the room, ignoring everyone's twitches at the name.

**he yelled, struggling with all his might, and to his surprise, Quirrell let go of him. **

"What?"

"Why?"

"What!"

**The pain in his head lessened — he looked around wildly to see where Quirrell had gone, and saw him hunched in pain, looking at his fingers — they were blistering before his eyes. **

"That's some scary magic," Fred and George said, looking over at him in awe. Harry uncomfortably noticed that they weren't the only ones looking at him in wonder and awe.

"**Seize him! SEIZE HIM!" shrieked Voldemort again, and Quirrell lunged, knocking Harry clean off his feet landing on top of him, both hands around Harry's neck**

Ginny whimpered, hugging Harry full out. To nobody's surprise but their own, Harry wrapped his own arms around her in return, liking the feel of her in his arms.

— **Harry's scar was almost blinding him with pain, yet he could see Quirrell howling in agony. **

Hermione was shaking slightly with the effort it took to hold back her tears. She hated hearing about her beloved best friend in pain and could only console herself with the fact that he was sitting right by her in relatively perfect health five years later.

"**Master, I cannot hold him — my hands — my hands!" **

**And Quirrell, though pinning Harry to the ground with his knees, let go of his neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms — Harry could see they looked burned, raw, red, and shiny. **

"What is happening to him?" Hannah wondered, her face contorted as she tried not to picture what was happening.

"**Then kill him, fool, and be done!" screeched Voldemort. **

Ginny held him harder, squeezing as if her life depended on it. She was terrified for him, even though she knew he made it out alive.

**Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse, but Harry, by instinct, reached up and grabbed Quirrell's face — **

"'Instinct?'" Cho repeated to herself.

"**AAAARGH!" **

**Quirrell rolled off him, his face blistering, too, and then Harry knew: Quirrell couldn't touch his bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain — **

"Yes, but why?" Terry raked his hands through his hair as he tried to figure out what was happening. Turning to his friends, he asked "Do any of you understand this?"

Michael looked over at Harry then back at his friend. "I feel that the only ones who do are Harry and maybe Dumbledore."

Terry glanced up at his headmaster who was sitting perfectly still with a serene smile on his old and weathered face.

**his only chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keep him in enough pain to stop him from doing a curse. **

"I don't know how Harry is able to think so logically in this situation. I would have been frozen with fear as soon as I heard another voice," Parvati cried to Lavender.

**Harry jumped to his feet, caught Quirrell by the arm, and hung on as tight as he could. Quirrell screamed and tried to throw Harry off — the pain in Harry's head was building**—

"So whatever is happening with Harry and Quirrell is causing pain to the both of them?" Lisa asked herself more than her friends around her.

**he couldn't see — he could only hear Quirrell's terrible shrieks and Voldemort's yells of, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!"**

The hall was silent in fear for their hero.

**and other voices, maybe in Harry's own head, crying, "Harry! Harry!" **

"What?" Students asked, confused.

"Is someone else there?"

"Is he gone?"

"What's going on?"

**He felt Quirrell's arm wrenched from his grasp, knew all was lost, and fell into blackness, down… down… down… **

"That can't be good…" Cho murmured, looking over at the embracing Gryffindors.

**Something gold was glinting just above him. The Snitch! **

"I am seriously confused," many people said. Everyone agreed with them.

Except for Oliver, that is. "THAT'S MY SEEKER! EVEN WHEN IN SEVERE PAIN, HE KNOWS WHERE HIS PRIORITIES AND THOUGHTS SHOULD BE!"

**He tried to catch it, but his arms were too heavy. **

**He blinked. It wasn't the Snitch at all. It was a pair of glasses. How strange. **

"Strange indeed," Ron laughed, smiling at his best mate.

**He blinked again. The smiling face of Albus Dumbledore swam into view above him. **

"That's good," many students sighed. "It means you're safe."

"**Good afternoon, Harry," said Dumbledore. **

**Harry stared at him. Then he remembered: "Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick —" **

"You don't give up at all, do you?" Lisa Turpin asked him, amused.

Harry shrugged, while Ron and Hermione snorted. "You have no idea," they both said, laughing slightly.

"**Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times," said Dumbledore. "Quirrell does not have the Stone." **

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"**Then who does? Sir, I —" **

"**Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out." **

Madam Pomfrey, who had sat silently through the chapter with a disapproving glare, smirked slightly at that.

**Harry swallowed and looked around him. He realized he must be in the hospital wing. He was lying in a bed with white linen sheets, and next to him was a table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop. **

Ron's stomach growled.

"**Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore, beaming. "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. **

"Naturally," everyone smirked, smiling up at their chuckling headmaster.

**I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. **

"That's where it went!" Ginny shouted, turning to look happily at her brothers. Now that she knew Harry was safe she could grin. "I never got that from you, you know. I was so looking forward to it!"

Fred and George grinned. "Sorry, sister dearest. We felt Harry needed it more!"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

**No doubt they thought it would amuse you. **

"It did," Harry laughed.

**Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it." **

Madam Pomfrey 'hmphed', obviously still upset about it.

**How long have I been in here?" **

"**Three days. **

"Three days?" Ginny whispered, changing her mind about being happy. Harry was out for three days! How could she not have known that!

Harry noticed her stiffen, sliding back off of his lap. He put his arm around her supportively. "Ginny, don't worry about it. I've gone through worse and I'm still fine," he said quietly to her, trying to comfort her. He didn't know why, but he didn't like the idea of Ginny being upset. Maybe… No, it couldn't be. Ron would kill him! But…

**Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Granger will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried." **

"We were," Hermione stated, looking over at Harry and Ginny, her face softening when she saw their close positions. "It was horrible not knowing if you were going to be alright."

Ron nodded, grinning at the two. He had hope in his best mate to win him some money. "It was even worse because we didn't even know what happened to put you in that state. No one would tell us and you were obviously out so we were in the dark, mate."

The rest of the hall looked at them appreciatively, but in slight wonder. How had they not known what happened to Harry? Didn't the three of them know everything?

"**But sir, the Stone —" **

"**I see you are not to be distracted.**

Harry smiled sheepishly at that. He'd be the first to admit that he could get a one-track mind when it came to finding out something that he really wanted to know. He wasn't to the extent of Hermione, where she would rush to the library and research for hours. He preferred to question the authorities and snoop until he met his goal.

**Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. **

"At least there's that," Susan said faintly, not for the first time in the past few hours becoming grateful that she didn't live the life that Harry Potter did.

**I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say." **

McGonagall turned to glare at Dumbledore. "Albus! Don't encourage him! He doesn't need any more encouragement than necessary!"

"**You got there? You got Hermione's owl?" **

"**We must have crossed in midair. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you." **

"**It was **_**you**_**." **

"**I feared I might be too late." **

"**You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer –" **

"That might not have meant what he was saying…" Ernie said hesitantly, looking over at Harry and Ginny. Ginny was rapidly paling, examining Harry over in obvious fear.

"**Not the Stone, boy, you — the effort involved nearly killed you. **

Ginny groaned, dropping her head into his shoulder. "How many times are we going to hear about you almost dying?" she asked loudly, her voice muffled slightly into his shirt.

Harry looked to be thinking about his answer for a minute. "Well, seven maybe. I can think of about seven times in my first five years, but I don't know if every time will be mentioned…"

Ginny nodded stiffly, not knowing what to say to that.

The rest of the school looked at each other uneasily. They didn't know about many of those times, and were more than frightened about hearing about a fellow student nearly die so many times.

**For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. **

Ginny whimpered, clutching onto Harry tighter. Harry wrapped her in a hug again.

**As for the Stone, it has been destroyed." **

"**Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. "But your friend — Nicolas Flamel —" **

"**Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You **_**did **_**do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best." **

"What does that mean? What's for the best?" Cho asked, exchanging nervous glances with Marietta.

"**But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?" **

"What!" multiple people shouted, not understanding what was going on at all.

Professor Dumbledore sighed, clasping his blackened hand with the other. "The Philosopher's Stone is a stone that can change any metal into gold, and can produce the Elixer of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. The Elixer has to be drunk repeatedly for the stone to work," he explained briefly.

Students gasped in wonder, others in fear. They all realized what Harry meant when he said he would die after destroying the stone.

"**They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die." **

**Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face. **

"**To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, **_**very **_**long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all — the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them." **

**Harry lay there, lost for words. Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling. **

Some people snickered. Dumbledore merely smiled.

"**Sir?" said Harry. "I've been thinking… sir — even if the Stone's gone, Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who —" **

"**Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself." **

"So that's where you picked up that dreadful mantra from?" Several old D.A. members asked curiously.

Harry scowled at them.

Ginny noticed this, and giggled, making Harry smile slightly at the sound.

"**Yes, sir. Well, Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?" **

"**No, Harry, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share… not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. **

Multiple Slytherins shifted in their seats, not liking what that could possibly mean for their parents. Dumbledore noticed this and smiled serenely at them all.

**Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time**— **and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power." **

"If only," sighed Harry, shaking his head. Ginny hugged him tighter in response.

**Harry nodded, but stopped quickly, because it made his head hurt. Then he said, "Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me… things I want to know the truth about…" **

"**The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie." **

"**Well… Voldemort said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him from killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place?" **

The students all looked very interested at that, some leaning forward in their seats in their anticipation.

**Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time. **

"**Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day… put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older… I know you hate to hear this… when you are ready, you will know." **

The students that leaned forward shrunk back in disappointment. Susan, obviously one of them, turned to Harry curiously. "Did you ever hear it?"

Pain flashed across his face, but he nodded stiffly at her.

Everyone looked interested again, hoping to hear about it in the book.

**And Harry knew it would be no good to argue. **

"**But why couldn't Quirrell touch me?" **

Everyone leaned forward again, counting on Dumbledore to answer that.

"**Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign… to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good." **

Harry blushed at everyone's interested stares.

**Dumbledore now became very interested in a bird out on the windowsill, which gave Harry time to dry his eyes on the sheet. When he had found his voice again, Harry said, "And the invisibility cloak — do you know who sent it to me?" **

"**Ah — your father happened to leave it in my possession, and I thought you might like it." **

**Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Useful things… your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here." **

Remus snorted, along with the teachers that had taught his father.

"**And there's something else…" **

"**Fire away." **

"**Quirrell said Snape —" **

"_**Professor **_**Snape, Harry." **

"**Yes, him**

Everyone laughed while Snape glared.

— **Quirrell said he hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?" **

Snape glared more intensely at Potter when he noticed the interested stares he was receiving.

"**Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Mr. Malfoy. And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive." **

"What's that?" Ginny asked curiously, knowing Harry, Ron, and Hermione never mentioned it.

"**What?" **

"**He saved his life." **

"What?" everyone repeated.

"But that doesn't make sense! Wouldn't you be glad if someone saved your life?" Romilda Vane asked, glancing over at Harry. Ginny noticed and narrowed her eyes, completely forgetting that Dean was her boyfriend.

Snape sneered at her, but chose not to answer.

"_**What**_**?" **

"Exactly!"

"**Yes…" said Dumbledore dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? **

"'Funny' he says!" Alicia snorted, shaking her head. She long ago resigned herself to the fact that she would never understand her old Potions Professor at all.

**Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt… I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father even. **

Snape couldn't help but sneer at that. He didn't care about the elder Potter; he did everything for his Lily.

**Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace…" **

**Harry tried to understand this but it made his head pound, so he stopped. **

Fred and George snorted. "Yes, thinking can do that to you, Harry dear."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Obviously. That's why I stopped."

"**And sir, there's one more thing…" **

"**Just the one?" **

Ron and Hermione grinned.

"**How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?" **

"That is something I would like to understand as well," Anthony smirked.

"**Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. **

"So modest," Harry laughed, smiling up at his headmaster.

Many people joined him in his laughter.

Ginny just smiled at the sight of him laughing, which both Remus and Hermione noticed. They shared a conspiratorial grin.

**You see, only one who wanted to **_**find **_**the Stone — find it, but not use it — would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. **

Anthony gasped. "That is beyond intelligent! That's borderline genius! Dumbledore knew that the only reason someone would want it would be for greed, and making it accessible for only the pure of heart makes perfect sense!"

Terry nodded frantically. "The man is brilliant! Barmy, yes, but brilliant all the same!"

**My brain surprises even me sometimes… **

Many people started to laugh again.

**Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bettie Bott's Every Flavour Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit flavoured one, **

"Gross," Lavender, Parvati, and Cho all spat.

George nodded at him sympathetically. "I understand. Really, I do."

Angelina rolled her eyes. "We don't need to hear about your bogie flavored one again," she stated drily, ignoring George's offended sniff.

**and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them**

"I can see why, sir," Hannah laughed, though her nose was wrinkled in disgust.

— **but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?" He smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said, "Alas! Ear wax!" **

Many more noses wrinkled at that.

**Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was a nice woman, but very strict. **

Madam Pomfrey smiled at him approvingly for his description. A smile, she noticed, Harry didn't return as he was too busy having another one of his staring contests with Miss Weasley.

"**Just five minutes," Harry pleaded. **

"**Absolutely not." **

"**You let Professor Dumbledore in…" **

"**Well, of course, that was the headmaster, quite different. You need **_**rest**_**." **

"**I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey…" **

"Does she let you?" Fred asked in amazement, the same awed look in his eye as before.

Harry nodded hesitantly.

"How do you do it?" George whispered in amazement, very much approving at his little sister's taste.

"**Oh, very well," she said. "But five minutes **_**only**_**." **

**And she let Ron and Hermione in. **

Quite a few people snickered after hearing their interaction.

"_**Harry!" **_

**Hermione looked ready to fling her arms around him again, but Harry was glad she held herself in as his head was still very sore. **

"I could tell you were still in pain," Hermione told him, smiling.

"**Oh, Harry, we were sure you were going to — Dumbledore was so worried —" **

"**The whole school's talking about it," said Ron. "What **_**really **_**happened?" **

**It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumours. **

"You could say that again," Neville, Fred, George, Lavender, Parvati, Padma, and many more of the old D.A. muttered in unison.

**Harry told them everything: Quirrell; the mirror; the Stone; and Voldemort. Ron and Hermione were a very good audience; they gasped in all the right places, and when Harry told them what was under Quirrell's turban, Hermione screamed out loud. **

"You didn't even tell me in as much detail in this book," Hermione laughed, "Which is something I am very grateful for."

"**So the Stone's gone?" said Ron finally. "Flamel's just going to **_**die**_**?" **

Ron seemed to agree with what he said in the past.

"**That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that — what was it? — 'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.'" **

"**I always said he was off his rocker," said Ron, looking quite impressed at how crazy his hero was. **

Dumbledore chuckled as the students were laughing.

Ron blushed but grinned all the same.

"**So what happened to you two?" said Harry. **

"**Well, I got back all right," said Hermione. "I brought Ron round — that took a while — and we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hall — he already knew — he just said, 'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the third floor." **

"**D'you think he meant you to do it?" said Ron. "Sending you your father's cloak and everything?" **

"_**Well**_**, " Hermione exploded, "if he did — I mean to say that's terrible — you could have been killed." **

"**No, it isn't," said Harry thoughtfully. "He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. **

"Not everything," Ron, Hermione, and Harry said with a large grin.

Ginny didn't like the sound of it, and neither did any of the teachers that heard, who all groaned.

**I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could…" **

"**Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right," said Ron proudly. **

"**Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course — you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you**

Harry and the old team grimaced. Oliver looked as if he could cry.

— **but the food'll be good." **

"It always is," Ron declared, his stomach grumbling at the thought of food. "Speaking of that, when are we going to have lunch? We didn't have breakfast!" Ron complained, looking at the empty plates longingly again.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, while Harry laughed.

"We will have lunch after Mr. Potter's first year, Mr. Weasley," Umbridge sniffed.

**At that moment, Madam Pomfrey bustled over. **

"**You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT" she said firmly. **

"You got her to let them stay for fifteen minutes? How? How!" Fred and George cried, scaring Harry slightly.

**After a good night's sleep, Harry felt nearly back to normal. **

"**I want to go to the feast," he told Madam Pomfrey as she straightened his many candy boxes. "I can, can't I?"**

"**Professor Dumbledore says you are to be allowed to go," she said stiffly, as though in her opinion Professor Dumbledore didn't realize how risky feasts could be. **

Madam Pomfrey nodded, shooting Dumbledore a glare.

"**And you have another visitor." **

"**Oh, good," said Harry. "Who is it?" **

**Hagrid sidled through the door as he spoke. As usual when he was indoors, Hagrid looked too big to be allowed. He sat down next to Harry, took one look at him, and burst into tears. **

"**It's — all — my — ruddy — fault!" he sobbed, his face in his hands. "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know, an' I told him! Yeh could've died! **

"Yes, but I always almost die," Harry stated.

**All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle!" **

"**Hagrid!" said Harry, shocked to see Hagrid shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking down into his beard. **"**Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow, this is Voldemort we're talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him."**

"**Yeh could've died!" **

"Again, I always almost die," Harry repeated.

Ginny smacked his arm. "Stop reminding me!" she snarled angrily.

**sobbed Hagrid. "An' don' say the name!" **

"**VOLDEMORT!" Harry bellowed, and Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying. **

"**I've met him and I'm calling him by his name. Please cheer up, Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, I've got loads…" **

"You're so nice," Ginny said admiringly, smiling up at Harry.

Harry smiled back hesitantly, not understanding her mood swings at all.

**Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said, "That reminds me. I've got yeh a present." **

"**It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" said Harry anxiously, **

The hall laughed.

**and at last Hagrid gave a weak chuckle. **

"**Nah. Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday ter fix it. 'course, he shoulda sacked me instead**— **anyway, got yeh this…" **

**It seemed to be a handsome, leather-covered book. Harry opened it curiously. It was full of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at him from every page were his mother and father. **

Harry was very irritated after hearing many girls coo.

"**Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos… knew yeh didn' have any… d'yeh like it?" **

**Harry couldn't speak, but Hagrid understood. **

**Harry made his way down to the end-of-year feast alone that night. He had been held up by Madam Pomfrey's fussing about, insisting on giving him one last checkup, so the Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in the Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row. **

The Slytherins all frowned and glared at the trio, knowing it was their fault they lost that year.

**A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table. **

**When Harry walked in there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. **

"That is really annoying," Harry said casually.

**He slipped into a seat between Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at him. **

**Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived moments later. The babble died away. **

"**Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. **"**And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle **

"'Wheezing waffle'?" Fred asked George. "How did we not notice him saying that the first time around?"

George shrugged. "I dunno. But we're using that from now on."

Fred nodded.

**before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! **

"You could say that again," Hermione frowned.

**Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were… you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts… **

"**Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two." **

**A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Harry could see Draco Malfoy banging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight.**

"**Yes, Yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account." **

**The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little. **

The Slytherins in the room looked very angry, knowing what was coming next.

"**Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes… **

"**First — to Mr. Ronald Weasley…" **

**Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with bad sunburn. **

"Thanks," Ron scowled, glaring playfully at his best mate.

Harry grinned cheekily in response.

"… **for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points." **

The Gryffindors in the hall all decided to celebrate again, and started to cheer loudly.

**Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!" **

The Weasleys all scowled at the reminder of their brother.

**At last there was silence again. **

"**Second — to Miss Hermione Granger… for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."**

**Hermione buried her face in her arms; Harry strongly suspected she had burst into tears. **

"Why do you notice everything?" Hermione snarled, blushing at the amused stares she was receiving.

Harry shrugged. "I'm just observant that way."

**Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves — they were a hundred points up. **

"**Third — to Mr. Harry Potter…" said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. **

"… **for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points." **

**The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and seventy-two points — exactly the same as Slytherin. **

The Gryffindors all cheered again.

**They had tied for the house cup — if only Dumbledore had given Harry just one more point. **

**Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent. **

"**There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom." **

Everyone cheered madly, as if they just won the House Cup then.

**Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. **

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. He had never won so much as a point for Gryffindor before. Harry, still cheering, nudged Ron in the ribs and pointed at Malfoy, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if he'd just had the Body-Bind Curse put on him. **

Malfoy sneered.

"**Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, **"**we need a little change of decoration." **

**He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place. **

**Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand, with a horrible, forced smile. **

Snape glared at Harry, but Harry was far too used to it by now and simply ignored it.

**He caught Harry's eye and Harry knew at once that Snape's feelings toward him hadn't changed one jot. **

**This didn't worry Harry. **

**It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at Hogwarts. **

"I wish," everyone that had been petrified growled, while the trio and Ginny paled at the reminder of their next year at Hogwarts. Harry hugged her comfortingly.

**It was the best evening of Harry's life, better than winning at Quidditch, or Christmas, or knocking out mountain trolls… **

"I still need to hear this troll story!" Katie shouted, wanting to know what the heck it was about.

**he would never, ever forget tonight. **

**Harry had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but come they did. To their great surprise, both he and Ron passed with good marks; Hermione, of course, had the best grades of the first years. **

"Of course," Every sixth year smiled, excluding the Slytherins.

**Even Neville scraped through, his good Herbology mark making up for his abysmal Potions one. They had hoped that Goyle, who was almost as stupid as he was mean, might be thrown out, but he had passed, too. It was a shame, but as Ron said, you couldn't have everything in life. **

Ron sighed sadly, but nodded in agreement with himself. "It is true."

**And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, Neville's toad was found lurking in a corner of the toilets; notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays ("I always hope they'll forget to give us these," said Fred Weasley sadly)**

"We never will, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall glared sternly at him.

**; Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts Express; talking and laughing as the countryside became greener and tidier; eating Bettie Bott's Every Flavour Beans as they sped past Muggle towns; pulling off their wizard robes and putting on jackets and coats; pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station. **

**It took quite a while for them all to get off the platform. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles. **

"**You must come and stay this summer," said Ron, "both of you — I'll send you an owl." **

"**Thanks," said Harry, "I'll need something to look forward to." People jostled them as they moved forward toward the gateway back to the Muggle world. Some of them called: **

"**Bye, Harry!" **

"**See you, Potter!" **

"**Still famous," said Ron, grinning at him. **

"**Not where I'm going, I promise you," said Harry.**

Everyone turned as one to glare at the Durselys, who were glaring at Harry for his comment.

**He, Ron, and Hermione passed through the gateway together. "There he is, Mum, there he is, look!"**

"Oh, were you excited to see your brother?" Susan asked kindly, not understanding why Ginny blushed deeply and turned her head back into Harry's shoulder.

**It was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, but she wasn't pointing at Ron. **

"**Harry Potter!" she squealed. "Look, Mum! I can see —" **

"Oh," Susan said quietly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

Ginny interrupted her quickly. "It's alright," she muttered quickly.

"**Be quiet, Ginny, and it's rude to point." **

**Mrs. Weasley smiled down at them. **

"**Busy year?" she said. **

"Understatement," Ron and Hermione snorted.

"**Very," **

"I still think that's an understatement," they both said in unison.

**said Harry. "Thanks for the fudge and the sweater, Mrs. Weasley." **

"**Oh, it was nothing, dear." **

"**Ready, are you?" **

**It was Uncle Vernon, still purple-faced, still mustached, still looking furious at the nerve of Harry, carrying an owl in a cage in a station full of ordinary people. **

Vernon glared around the hall at that.

**Behind him stood Aunt Petunia and Dudley, looking terrified at the very sight of Harry. **

"**You must be Harry's family!" said Mrs. Weasley. **

"**In a manner of speaking,"**

"That's so rude!" Padma gasped.

Vernon directed his glare to her.

**said Uncle Vernon. "Hurry up, boy, we haven't got all day." He walked away.**

**Harry hung back for a last word with Ron and Hermione. **

"**See you over the summer, then." **

"**Hope you have — er — a good holiday," said Hermione, looking uncertainly after Uncle Vernon, shocked that anyone could be so unpleasant. **

"I was definitely shocked," Hermione agreed.

"**Oh, I will," said Harry, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over his face. **

"What are you up to?" Seamus asked suspiciously, knowing Harry could be quite devious when he wanted to be.

"_**They **_**don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer…" **

Laughter broke out around the hall.


End file.
